2024 Ananta Soneji

Ananta Soneji

Ph.D. Candidate in Computer Science

About Me

I am a Computer Science Ph.D. candidate at Arizona State University, specializing in Human Factors Security and Privacy. I study underexplored yet critical socio-technical security systems to uncover how multi-stakeholder mental models, work practices, and institutional contexts shape and influence security and privacy. Using qualitative and mixed-methods approaches, my research reveals systemic blind spots and emergent issues across domains such as SOCs, RCIs, peer review, educational technology, online creator platforms, and Zero Trust environments.

I am a proud member of the Security Engineering for Future Computing (SEFCOM) lab. My Ph.D. is advised by Dr. Adam Doupé and I actively work with Dr. Yan Shoshitaishvili, Dr. Tiffany Bao, and Dr. Ruoyu (Fish) Wang.

📢 I am on the academic job market beginning Fall 2026.
Happy to connect and learn about exciting opportunities!

Curriculum Vitae · Research Statement · Teaching Statement

Publications

  1. Do Hackers Dream of Electric Teachers?: A Large-Scale, In-Situ Evaluation of Cybersecurity Student Behaviors and Performance with AI Tutors
    Michael Tompkins, Nihaarika Agarwal, Ananta Soneji, Robert Wasinger, Connor Nelson, Kevin Leach, Rakibul Hasan, Adam Doupé, Daniel Votipka, Yan Shoshitaishvili, and Jaron Mink. (arXiv)

  2. I Can SE Clearly Now: Investigating the Effectiveness of GUI-based Symbolic Execution for Software Vulnerability Discovery
    Acceptance rate: 25.3%
    Yi Jou Li, Zeming Yu, James A. Mattei, Ananta Soneji, Zhibo Sun, Ruoyu Wang, Jaron Mink, Daniel Votipka, and Tiffany Bao.
    In Proceedings of the 2026 CHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’26), Barcelona, Spain, April 2026.

  3. Decompiling the Synergy: An Empirical Study of Human–LLM Teaming in Software Reverse Engineering
    TrophyDistinguished Paper Award , Acceptance rate: 17.8%
    Zion Leonahenahe Basque, Samuele Doria, Ananta Soneji, Wil Gibbs, Adam Doupé, Yan Shoshitaishvili, Eleonora Losiouk, Ruoyu Wang, and Simone Aonzo.
    In Proceedings of the Symposium on Network and Distributed System Security (NDSS), San Diego, CA, Feb 2026.

  4. Towards Collaboration-Aware Resource Sharing in Research Computing Infrastructures
    Souradip Nath, Ananta Soneji, Jaejong Baek, Carlos Rubio-Medrano, and Gail-Joon Ahn.
    In Proceedings of the 11th IEEE International Conference on Collaboration and Internet Computing (IEEE CIC ’25), Pittsburgh, PA, Nov 2025.

  5. ''It’s almost like Frankenstein'': Investigating the Complexities of Scientific Collaboration and Privilege Management within Research Computing Infrastructures
    Acceptance rate: ~14.8%
    Souradip Nath*, Ananta Soneji*, Jaejong Baek, Tiffany Bao, Adam Doupé, Carlos Rubio-Medrano, and Gail-Joon Ahn.
    In Proceedings of the 46th IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (Oakland), San Francisco, CA, May 2025.
    * Equal Contribution

  6. Investigating the Security & Privacy Risks from Unsanctioned Technology Use by Educators
    Easton Kelso, Ananta Soneji, Syed Zami-Ul-Haque Navid, Yan Shoshitaishvili, Sazzadur Rahaman, and Rakibul Hasan.
    In Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’25), April 26–May 01, 2025, Yokohama, Japan.

  7. Trust, Because You Can’t Verify: Privacy and Security Hurdles in Education Technology Acquisition Practices
    Acceptance rate: 331/1964, 16.9%
    Easton Kelso, Ananta Soneji, Sazzadur Rahaman, Yan Shoshitaishvili, and Rakibul Hasan.
    In Proceedings of the 2024 ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS ’24), October 14–18, 2024, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.

  8. ''I feel physically safe but not politically safe'': Understanding the Digital Threats and Safety Practices of OnlyFans Creators
    Slides Watch Talk Acceptance rate: 417/2276, 18.32%
    Ananta Soneji, Vaughn Hamilton, Adam Doupé, Allison McDonald, Elissa M. Redmiles.
    In 33st USENIX Security Symposium (USENIX Security 24)

  9. ''Watching over the shoulder of a professional'': Why hackers make mistakes and how they fix them
    Acceptance rate: 258/1449, ~17.8%
    Irina Ford, Ananta Soneji, Faris Bugra Kokulu, Jayakrishna Vadayath, Zion Leonahenahe Basque, Gaurav Vipat, Adam Doupé, Ruoyu Wang, Gail-Joon Ahn, Tiffany Bao, and Yan Shoshitaishvili.
    In Proceedings of the 45th IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (Oakland), San Francisco, CA, May 2024.

  10. ''Nudes? Shouldn't I charge for these?'': Motivations of New Sexual Content Creators on OnlyFans
    TrophyHonorable Mention (top 5%) , Acceptance rate: 27.6%
    Vaughn Hamilton, Ananta Soneji, Allison McDonald, Elissa M. Redmiles.
    In Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’23), Hamburg, Germany, April 2023.

  11. ''Flawed, but like democracy we don't have a better system'': The Experts’ Insights on the Peer Review Process of Evaluating Security Papers
    Slides Watch Talk Acceptance rate: 147/1012, ~14.52%
    Ananta Soneji, Faris Bugra Kokulu, Carlos Rubio-Medrano, Tiffany Bao, Ruoyu Wang, Yan Shoshitaishvili, and Adam Doupé.
    In Proceedings of the 43rd IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (Oakland), San Francisco, CA, May 2022.

  12. Matched and Mismatched SOCs: A Qualitative Study on Security Operations Center Issues
    Acceptance rate: 149/934, ~16%
    Faris Bugra Kokulu, Ananta Soneji, Tiffany Bao, Yan Shoshitaishvili, Ziming Zhao, Adam Doupé, and Gail-Joon Ahn.
    In 2019 ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS ’19), November 11–15, 2019, London, United Kingdom.

Education

Ph.D. in Computer Science
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
2019 - Present

MCS in Computer Science
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
2017 - 2019

B.Tech. (Honours) in ICT with a minor in Computational Science
Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Gujarat, India
2013 - 2017

Professional Service

Workshop Organization

Program Committees

Other Service

Contact

Email: asoneji@asu.edu

Twitter: @AnantaSoneji

LinkedIn: Ananta Soneji

Google Scholar