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Komal Ilyas, a first-year computer science and engineering Ph.D. student at Texas A&M University, has been awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation CSGrad4Us fellowship to study how artificial intelligence systems can be hacked and how to stop it.

“As AI becomes more integrated into our daily lives and critical systems, understanding its vulnerabilities is essential,” Ilyas said. “I’ll be focusing on identifying how AI can be deceived or attacked so we can build more secure and trustworthy systems.”

The fellowship provides fellows with a $37,000 annual stipend, a $16,000 cost of education allowance, and access to a mentorship program, all for three years. Ilyas, who earned her master’s degree in computer science from Texas A&M, applied during the final year of that program.

She works in the SPIES lab under Dr. Nitesh Saxena and Dr. Irfan Khan. Her current project investigates how unmanned marine vessels could be targeted by cyberattacks and what defenses can protect them.

Our SPIES Lab paper “VitalID,” presented at ACM CCS 2025, has received extensive media coverage for introducing a new AR/VR authentication method that requires no user interaction or specialized hardware. This work, a collaboration between researchers at Rutgers University, Temple University, NJIT, and Texas A&M (SPIES Lab), received a Distinguished Paper Award at CCS 2025 and is already generating significant real‑world impact.

Some examples of articles featuring our work:

1. New Face ID could use your skull vibrations – no, seriously, Yahoo! Tech, April 4, 2026
2. No passwords, no scans: Scientists unveil ‘VitalID’, a way to log in using your skull’s unique vibrations, The Indian EXPRESS, April 4, 2026
3. Revolutionary VitalID Technology: A New Era in Digital Security, OBNews, April 4, 2026
4. VitalID: Schädelbrummen als Passwortersatz, it-daily.net,  April 4, 2026
5. VitalID: Passwords are out! Now, your head vibrations will be enough to log in. Learn about this new technology, ABP News, April 4, 2026
6. Skull vibrations can be your next password:Scientists unveil ‘VitalID’ and how it may replace traditional passwords, Bhaskar English, April 3, 2026
7. Picking Up ‘Skull Vibrations’? Could Be XR Headset Authentication, Dark Reading, April 3, 2026
8. Now, not just passwords, your heartbeat and breath will unlock your account! Scientists have discovered a unique way to log in, Zee News, April 3, 2026
9. VitalID: A Future Where Your Skull Becomes Your Password, realme, April 3, 2026
10. New authentication technology makes it difficult for hackers to fake, LAODONG, April 3, 2026
11. New Face ID could use your skull vibrations – no, seriously, T3, April 3, 2026
12. VitalID: How Skull Vibrations Are Revolutionizing Digital Security, startuphub today, April 1, 2026
13. Can’t Keep Your Logins in Your Head? Your Next Password Could Be Your Skull, Newsweek,  April 1, 2026
14. Unique skull vibrations could act as password for headset users, E+T, April 1, 2026
15. New biometric uses breathing and heartbeat to secure XR platforms, MSN, April 1, 2026
16. Research says Vibrations in Skull can help stop Password usage, Cybersecurity INSIDERS, March 31, 2026
17. Skull vibrations could be your next password, Popular Science, March 31, 2026
18. AI Is Breaking Passwords, and the Alternatives Are Getting Pretty Weird, Inc., April 6, 2026
19. Skull’s Vibration Can Replace Passwords, Pins & Stop Scams, dailyhunt, April 7, 2026
20. VitalID: XR-Authentifizierung per Schädelvibrationen – kein Passwort nötig, All About Security, March 31, 2026

Exciting news! An MS Cybersecurity degree from the Computer Science and Engineering at TAMU is coming out in Fall 2026 (recently approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board). This will be a great enabler for our students, the state of Texas and the nation as whole. 

This is the third MS Cybersecurity degree program that Dr. Saxena has helped architect and launch (working together with the department leadership and other cybersecurity faculty). Starting from the MS Cybersecurity at NYU Tandon (launched 2009; co-directed until 2011) and followed by the MS Cybersecurity at UAB (launched 2013; co-directed until 2021). Both programs have been very successful for years. The UAB’s program, ranked as the top graduate program in cybersecurity by Fortune in 2021, was/is also the cornerstone of the NSF-funded SFS CyberCorps program that Dr. Saxena designed and led (from 2017 to 2021).

The SPIES lab led by Dr. Saxena takes immense pride in this continuous journey to innovate in education and incessantly serve students in an area of national importance.

https://www.kbtx.com/2026/02/03/texas-am-board-regents-could-approve-new-programs-across-university-system/

We are thrilled to share that Md Mojibur Rahman Redoy Akanda, a PhD student in the SPIES Lab, has won the Graduate Research Excellence Award 2026, presented at the Computer Science and Engineering Department’s annual banquet. This is the highest honor for PhD students conducting exceptional research across the department.

Congratulations! Akanda’s work, especially at the intersection of security and accessibility, is very unique and much needed, and he will be coming up on the tenure-track market in the next year’s cycle. 

Please learn more about his work and achievements on his LinkedIn profile or directly via his website: https://redoyakanda.github.io/.

Comparing a Store-less Password Manager with Traditional Password-Only Authentication
Mohammed Jubur, Maliheh Shirvanian,  Salahaldeen Duraibi and Nitesh Saxena
In IEEE Internet Computing, 2026