About me

Hello! my name is Nilo Redini, and I am a Ph.D. student in computer security at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The journey that eventually brought me here in the sunny California is quite interesting and twisted, but I will keep it short and to the point.

I always had many hobbies, but, above all, I have always been curious about computers since I was a little kid. After irremediably breaking several computers to see how they worked, at the age of 7, my dad decided it was time to buy me some books to learn about computers. This passion eventually brought me to enroll the computer engineering school at the University of Pisa. During these years, my life took an unexpected twist and I almost gave up my studies and dreams. Fortunately, things went well, and after deciding to keep studying, in 2010 I got my bachelor (B.Sc.) degree. That was also the year that I decided to have an experience abroad, and, in 2012, I won the Erasmus Placement scholarship and joined the Alcatel-Lucent Bell-Labs Ireland, under the supervision of Tommaso Cucinotta. In 2013, I got my master (M.Sc.) degree in computer engineering with 110 Cum Laude/110.

However, I realized that there was still a lot about computers I needed to learn, and decided that I needed to go and explore the world and learn as much as possible about computer science, and, in particular, about computer security. At the end of 2013, I got hired as an intern in the security lab of the University of California, Santa Barbara, under the supervision of prof. Giovanni Vigna, and prof. Christopher Kruegel. During this period, I understood that computer security was what I wanted to learn and do, and, therefore, at the end of 2013 I applied for a Ph.D. position. In 2014, I finally joined the lab, and I have been part of it since then.

My research is mainly focused on finding new program analysis techniques to uncover security vulnerabilities in firmware for embedded systems (you can find more about my research here). I am also part of the Shellphish hacking team, which gave me the opportunity to compete against and together with the best hackers in the world, and see places that I doubt I would have seen otherwise. In 2019, I also got the great opportunity to join for a quarter the Precise lab at the University of Pennsylvania, under the supervision of prof. Mayur Naik. To know more about my professional life, please check my CV, and Linkedin page.

Finally, I really love rock/metal music (groups like Korn, Slipknot, Rob zombie, Offspring, and Rammstein), play guitar (unfortunately only part–time), watch all kind of movies (besides musicals!!! Please not musicals) and skate as often as I can. If you want to get in touch with me, or you think we share some common passion, do not hesitate to contact me.