Chris Valasek

Chris Valasek
Name	Chris Valasek
Occupation	Computer security researcher
Known for	Automotive cybersecurity, remote vehicle control demonstrations

Chris Valasek is an American computer security researcher noted for work in automotive cybersecurity and vulnerability research. He has collaborated with academics, industry researchers, and security vendors to disclose and remediate high-profile vulnerabilities affecting embedded systems, telematics, and remote-access technologies. Valasek's work spans collaborations with laboratories, corporations, and media outlets, influencing standards and practices across the technology sector.

Early life and education

Valasek's background includes technical training and formative experiences linked to institutions and programs known for computer science and engineering research such as University of Illinois, Carnegie Mellon University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley. Early influences include projects and communities around DEF CON, Black Hat (conference), Chaos Communication Congress, Electronic Frontier Foundation, IEEE, and ACM. Associations with regional technology hubs like Silicon Valley, Boston, Massachusetts, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Chicago, Illinois informed his exposure to embedded systems, automotive engineering, and networked device security.

Career

Valasek's professional trajectory includes roles at security firms, research labs, and corporations engaged with automotive technologies such as Uber Technologies, Google, Microsoft, Amazon (company), Apple Inc. and specialist vendors like IOActive, NCC Group, Rapid7, and Kaspersky Lab. He has worked alongside academic groups from Princeton University, University of Michigan, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of California, San Diego, and Cornell University. Valasek's career intersects with standards bodies and consortia including SAE International, IEEE Standards Association, SEI (Software Engineering Institute), OWASP, and IETF where research on protocols and interfaces for vehicles and telematics was discussed. He has contributed to product security reviews at manufacturers and suppliers such as Toyota, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Tesla, Inc., Bosch, DENSO, and Continental AG.

Security research and major vulnerabilities

Valasek's research portfolio emphasizes automotive electronic control units, in-vehicle networks, telematics units, and remote services. He collaborated on high-impact disclosures involving remote exploitation vectors that implicated suppliers and platforms like Harman International Industries, Delphi Automotive, Verizon Communications, AT&T, Sierra Wireless, TMobile US, and satellite-linked services such as Inmarsat. Work included analysis of CAN bus behavior, diagnostic interfaces, infotainment stacks, and cellular modems with relevance to products from Bosch, Continental AG, Magneti Marelli, Continental Teves, Autoliv, and Valeo. Valasek's findings informed vulnerability management processes used by organizations including MITRE Corporation and databases such as Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures, influencing disclosure practices involving US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and cybersecurity agencies like CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) and ENISA.

Notable demonstrations and talks

Valasek has co-presented demonstrations and briefings at venues and events including Black Hat USA, DEF CON, RSA Conference, USENIX, SANS Institute, CanSecWest, BlueHat (conference), WOOT (Workshop on Offensive Technologies), and Automotive Cybersecurity Summit. Notable collaborative demonstrations were covered in mainstream outlets and involved organizations such as Wired (magazine), The New York Times, The Washington Post, BBC News, Reuters, and The Guardian (London). Presentations often intersected with work by other researchers and institutions such as Charlie Miller (computer security analyst), Dmitri Alperovitch, Marc Rogers, Brian Krebs, Mikko Hyppönen, and teams from University of California, San Diego and Princeton University.

Publications and patents

Valasek has authored or co-authored technical papers, white papers, and advisories published through outlets and repositories like IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, USENIX, arXiv, IETF RFCs, and vendor security advisories from firms such as Trend Micro, Symantec Corporation, McAfee, Cisco Systems, Palo Alto Networks, and CrowdStrike. His publications address topics relevant to automotive safety, risk assessment, and secure design practices and have been cited in work associated with SAE International reports, NHTSA guidance, and academic theses at institutions like Georgia Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University. Patent filings and intellectual property efforts involve technologies for secure telematics, intrusion detection, and device authentication with assignees and examiners linked to United States Patent and Trademark Office, European Patent Office, and corporate patent portfolios of Ford Motor Company and General Motors.

Recognition and awards

Valasek's contributions have been recognized within the security and automotive communities by awards, invitations, and institutional acknowledgments from entities such as Black Hat (conference), DEF CON, SANS Institute, IEEE Computer Society, ACM SIGCOMM, RSA Conference, and industry groups including SAE International and Automotive Information Sharing and Analysis Center. Media coverage and peer citations have connected his work with discussions involving lawmakers and regulators like members of the United States Congress, European Commission, and agencies such as NHTSA and CISA that cite security research when shaping policy.

Category:Computer security researchers