On July 9, NYU officially named Dr. Damon McCoy, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and a researcher with the Center for Cybersecurity, as the Center’s new co-director. McCoy takes over the reins from Dr. Ramesh Karri, who is stepping down in order to assume the chairmanship of the Tandon Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Karri, a co-founder of the Center who has served as co-director since 2009, will remain part of the CCS faculty.

According to an announcement released by NYU on July 9, 2024, McCoy, along with Randal Milch, Professor of Practice with NYU Law, will co-direct the center’s curriculum and research, while also “pursuing industry partnerships that add to the existing relationships CCS has developed in the past few years.” Those partnerships include affiliations with American International Group, Inc. (AIG), a leading global insurance organization; DTCC, the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry; and Google.

McCoy has been affiliated with CCS since his arrival at Tandon in 2015, and he has led a number of significant research initiatives on the economics of cybercrime, privacy-enhancing technologies, and censorship resistance. Among his major contributions to the Center is co-founding Cybersecurity for Democracy (C4D), a “multi-university nonpartisan research project dedicated to exposing disinformation and other online threats.” Most recently, C4D released a study that looked at harassment of election officials on Twitter, while previous studies have investigated political ad-spending, and the influence of social media platforms on teens. 

In announcing the appointment,  Linda Boyle, NYU Tandon Vice Dean for Research, observed that “cybersecurity is a cornerstone of NYU Tandon’s academic priorities, and CCS plays a vital role in advancing both critical research and professional development in this field. Damon’s remarkable work with CCS and C4D has expanded the frontiers of cybersecurity, safeguarding not just individuals and organizations, but also the integrity of democratic institutions and processes that are essential to civic life. His commitment to research with enormous social impact makes him a stellar choice to head CCS.”

Milch added, ““Damon is, and will continue to be, a champion of this NYU collaboration that includes Tandon and the Law School,” said Milch. “I’m thrilled to work with him in guiding the Center to continued success.”