Tadayoshi Kohno
Also known as Yoshi Kohno
Tadayoshi Kohno studies computer security, privacy, and the risks of machine-learning systems. He earned a bachelor of science in computer science from the University of Colorado in 1999 and a Ph.D. at the University of California San Diego in 2006, then taught at the University of Washington from 2006 to 2025 and co-directed the Security and Privacy Research Lab. In 2008 his group published the first academic security analysis of a wireless implantable medical device, and in 2010 and 2011 the group published experimental analyses of remote compromise of a modern automobile. A 2018 paper showed that stickers on a stop sign can make a computer-vision classifier misread the sign, and studies in 2023, 2024, and 2025 examined bias in audio systems, face recognition, and large machine-learning datasets. He is the McDevitt Chair in Computer Science, Ethics, and Society at Georgetown University and a 2025 ACM Fellow.
- Now at
- Georgetown University
- Works
- 357
- Citations
- 20,166
- h-index
- 65
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 17 October 2026.
Timeline
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1999–2006
A San Diego doctorate
He grows up in a small town just outside Boulder, Colorado, and earns a bachelor of science in computer science from the University of Colorado in 1999. He completes a Ph.D. at the University of California San Diego in 2006 with Mihir Bellare.
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2006–2025
Professor at Washington
He starts a faculty career at the University of Washington in 2006 and serves through 2025 as a professor in the Allen School. He co-directs the Security and Privacy Research Lab from 2006 to 2025 and the Tech Policy Lab from 2014 to 2025.
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2008
Implantable device security
In 2008, he and colleagues publish the first academic security analysis of a real wireless implantable medical device. The IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Security and Privacy gives that work a Test of Time Award in 2019.
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2010–2011
Analysis of a modern car
In 2010 and 2011, he and colleagues publish the first experimental computer security analyses of a modern automobile, including remote compromise over cellular, Bluetooth, and other non-contact means. The work receives a Test of Time Award in 2020 and the American Association for the Advancement of Science Golden Goose Award in 2021.
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2018
Stickers on a stop sign
In 2018, he and colleagues publish a paper in which stickers make a computer-vision algorithm read a stop sign as a speed limit sign. The paper, Robust Physical-World Attacks on Deep Learning Models, is accepted to CVPR 2018.
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2023–2025
Bias in learning systems
With colleagues, he studies gender biases in audio processing systems and racial biases in face recognition in 2023, exclusion from large machine-learning training sets in 2024, and the impact of biased AI outputs on people in 2025.
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Since August 2025
McDevitt Chair at Georgetown
He joins Georgetown University in August 2025 as the McDevitt Chair in Computer Science, Ethics, and Society and a research professor in the Center for Digital Ethics. In January 2026, the Association for Computing Machinery names him a 2025 ACM Fellow for leadership in cybersecurity for emerging technologies, security ethics, and sociotechnical security. He studies advances in AI systems and the harms those systems can create.
Sources and credits
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- Tadayoshi Kohno (Yoshi Kohno)
- Trailblazing Computer Scientist and Educator Yoshi Kohno Joins Georgetown
- Tadayoshi Kohno - Wikipedia
- Groundbreaking study that served as the foundation for securing implantable medical devices earns IEEE Test of Time Award
- UW and UCSD researchers earn Test of Time Award for driving automobile security in new directions
- 2021: The Fast and the Curious — The Golden Goose Award
- Robust Physical-World Attacks on Deep Learning Models
- Computer Science Professor Yoshi Kohno Named 2025 ACM Fellow
- Yoshi Kohno | Massive Data Institute