Qifan Zhang
Ph.D. candidate
Data-driven Security and Privacy (DSP) Lab
Department of EECS
University of California, Irvine
Biography
Qifan Zhang (张起帆) is now a 4th-year Ph.D. candidate in Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science of University of California, Irvine with focus on Computer Security, advised by Prof. Zhou Li. His research interests include Network Security, especially Domain Name System (DNS), and Machine Learning Security and Privacy. Before that, he received his B.E. degree in Computer Science and Technology from ShanghaiTech University in 2020.
Pronunciation of his name: Chee-Fan Jang.
His Curriculum Vitae (last updated on Oct 23, 2023)
Pronunciation of his name: Chee-Fan Jang.
His Curriculum Vitae (last updated on Oct 23, 2023)
Recent news
- [10/2023]: Invited by Shuzi Huanyu, he will present ResolverFuzz at 7 pm on Oct 23 (PST). Slides are available here.
- [08/2023]: ResolverFuzz got accepted into USENIX Security ‘24. Sincere gratitude towards Xuesong and Xiang.
- [06/2023]: Awarded with 2023 ANRW Travel Grants. Thank you, IETF and IRTF!
- [05/2023]: Passed the Qualifying Examination.
Interests
- Domain Name System (DNS). Qifan is interested in security, privacy and reliability of DNS. His past research covered protocol security [NDSS'23], implementation assessment [Security'23], and automated vulnerability detection with fuzzing techniques [Security'24].
- Machine Learning Security and Privacy. Qifan is also interested in security and privacy topics related to machine learning. His past research demonstrated model extraction on Autonomous Vehicle using Gradient-Descent based methods [ACSAC'22].
Education
-
Ph.D. in Computer Engineering
2020 - now
University of California, Irvine
-
B.E. in Computer Science and Technology / Minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
2016 - 2020
ShanghaiTech University
Publications
(2024).
ResolverFuzz: Automated Discovery of DNS Resolver Vulnerabilities with Query-Response Fuzzing.
In USENIX Security ‘24 (Acceptance rate: ??.?%).
(2023).
Kick Bad Guys Out! Zero-Knowledge-Proof-Based Anomaly Detection in Federated Learning.
Under submission of ICLR 24 (Acceptance rate: ??.?%).
(2023).
The Maginot Line: Attacking the Boundary of DNS Caching Protection.
In USENIX Security ‘23 (Acceptance rate: 29.2%).
(2023).
FedMLSecurity: A Benchmark for Attacks and Defenses in Federated Learning and Federated LLMs.
Under submission of ICLR 24 (Acceptance rate: ??.?%).
(2023).
Ghost Domain Reloaded: Vulnerable Links in Domain Name Delegation and Revocation.
In NDSS ‘23 (Acceptance rate: 17.4%).
(2022).
Play the Imitation Game: Model Extraction Attack against Autonomous Driving Localization.
In ACSAC ‘22 (Acceptance rate: 24.1%).
(2022).
A Comprehensive Study of DNS Operational Issues by Mining DNS Forums.
In IEEE Access.
Miscs
Awards and Honors
In UC Irvine
- 2023 ANRW Travel Grant
- Associated Graduate Students Conference Stipend (Fall 2022)
- 2022 ACSAC Student Conferenceship
- Student travel grant for NDSS (2021)
- Student travel grant for USENIX Security (2021)
- Student travel grant for IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (2021)
In ShanghaiTech
- 2020 ShanghaiTech Outstanding Graduate
- SIST Outstanding Teaching Assistant (2020, 2019, 2018)
- Merit Student (2018-2019, 2017-2018, 2016-2017)
- Outstanding Personnel in 2017 Summer Camp
Services
Artifact Evaluation Committee
External Reviewer
- NDSS: 2023, 2022, 2021
- SecureComm: 2023
- AsiaCCS: 2022, 2021
- PeerJ Computer Science
Teaching
In UC Irvine
- EECS 40 (F23, F22): Objected Oriented Systen and Programming (#students: 90/95)
In ShanghaiTech
- SI 100C (F17): Introduction to Computer Science and Technology (#students: 127)
- CS 100 (F18): Programming (#students: 243)
- CS 277 (F19): Introduction to Data Science and FinTech (#students: 23)
- (core TA) SI 100B (S18, S19, S20): Introduction to Information Science and Technology (#students: 203/174/410)
Students Advised
- Shenghan Zheng (B.E. at ShanghaiTech), UCInspire, 2022. now a Ph.D. student at University of California, Riverside
- Wenhao Zhang (B.S. at SUSTech), UCInspire, 2021. now a Ph.D. student at Northwestern University.
- Xiaoran Liao (B.S. at UC Irvine), 2021.
Links
To whom it may concern
A person’s fate, of course, depends on their own efforts, but the course of history should also be taken into account.
- Xiang Li
- Xuesong Bai
- Prof. Zhou Li, my Ph.D. advisor.
- Prof. Haipeng Zhang, my undergraduate thesis advisor and TA instructor.
Projects
Classical Music
Qifan Zhang is also a crazy fan of classical music. Many thanks to Prof. Dr. Geoffrey Pope and Prof. Emeriti Dr. Stephen Tucker, he has been appointed as the principal clarinetist of UCI Symphony Orchestra, Department of Music since 2020.
List of selected performance recordings:
- Der Hirt auf dem Felsen (Shepherd on the Rock), D.965 by Franz Schubert.
- Collaborated with Ivanna Vargas (soprano) and Junko Nojima (piano)
- Video recording available on YouTube and Bilibili.
Copyright of the headshot photo is reserved by Department of Music of UC Irvine for UCI Connect. You could find a short interview of me here.
Every serious classical clarinetist will own both a B-flat and an A clarinet.