# About

Iman Alipour — PhD candidate at MPI-INF. Human-centered security & privacy, usable security, and security measurement. Loves CTFs, hiking, coffee experiments, and making everyday gadgets smart.

# Hey, I’m Iman 👋#

I’m a PhD candidate at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics (MPI-INF) in the Internet Architecture group. I’m broadly fascinated by how people actually experience security and privacy online—and how we can design systems that protect them without asking for expert knowledge. My current work explores how emerging and existing technologies shape everyday users’ privacy and threaten their security, and how usable defenses can make a real difference.

I finished my B.Sc. in Computer Engineering at Sharif University of Technology in 2024, where I explored a mix of Machine Learning, Systems, Security, HCI, CPS, and IoT. For my bachelor thesis, I studied client selection in federated learning and proposed a reinforcement-learning–based method that balances accuracy, efficiency, and fairness while considering data quality and energy consumption.

## What I’m into (research)#

- Censorship Circumvention
- Human-centered Security & Privacy
- Usable Security
- Security Measurement
- Emerging technologies and their effects on user privacy

## A few things I’ve worked on#

- Federated learning client selection (B.Sc. thesis): A reinforcement-learning approach to optimize accuracy, efficiency, and fairness; accounts for end-user data quality and aims to reduce energy use.
- Security & privacy perceptions of messaging platforms in Iran: Investigated trust and distrust in local platforms, identified root causes, and contrasted Iranian vs. non-Iranian platforms.

## Hobbies & off-screen life#

When I’m not chasing down research questions, you’ll likely find me:

- 🎧 Listening to music and 🧩 playing CTFs
- 📰 Reading the news and keeping active—any sport is fair game
- 🥾 Hiking and 🌄 sight-seeing
- ☕ Experimenting with coffee and 🍳 cooking
- 🎲 Playing board games
- 🔧 Fiddling with electronics: making everyday tools smart and remotely controllable with micro-controllers, sensors, and actuators
- 📚 Reading books and happily getting lost in math & physics problems

## Quick timeline#

- Aug 2024 – present: PhD candidate, MPI-INF, Internet Architecture group (Saarbrücken, Germany)
- Jun 2023 – Jul 2024: Volunteer remote Research Assistant, InSPIRe Lab, Duke University
- Sep 2023 – Feb 2024: Volunteer Research Assistant, CPS Lab, Sharif University of Technology
- Feb 2023 – Sep 2023: Volunteer Research Assistant, RADIAN Lab, Sharif University of Technology
- Jul 2022 – Sep 2022: Summer Intern, Rasta Scientific Group

## Teaching I’ve helped with#

Advanced Programming (2021) · Probabilities & Statistics (2022) · Operating Systems (2023) · Embedded Systems (2023) · Computer Simulation (two offerings, 2023)

## Honors#

- Silver medal, Paya Math & Physics League — Tehran, Iran (Sep 2017)
- 2nd place, Water Rocket Design Competition — Isfahan’s Math House (Sep 2015)

## Contact#

Max-Planck-Institut für Informatik
Saarland Informatics Campus — Campus E1 4, 66123 Saarbrücken
Office: E1 4 – 514 · Phone: +49 681 9325 3548

## Links#

- 🔗 LinkedIn: https://de.linkedin.com/in/iman-alipour-b9234723a
- 🐙 GitHub: https://github.com/AlipourIm
- 🧩 TryHackMe: https://tryhackme.com/p/curiousNF
- 💼 Work page: https://www.mpi-inf.mpg.de/departments/inet/people/iman-alipour
- 🔑 OpenPGP public key (download): pgp_public_key

## OpenPGP#

Fingerprint: `55A2 A5DE 8479 2BAC C6CA EE3F B588 2850 E04C 8D2A`

Show ASCII-armored key

    -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

    mQINBGc9jFUBEADCXf0isAbrJSKp8tH0qF2OuCRSWuYcPyAuOUg1NCbzNhce6QML
    EFxafaD6THeJZ0XUEh5o5BaCnDaWRUHq495Z84Y/7cU5HGsrYDARs+zUVXiJap1E
    5xMeFCPDIa0/ItaoMLpLJWeor11UG/Fs+fDoeQhWIYIKfab84fXjMvdq9v6MWs4L
    rv0/xLZocU/rHjhc2409UMtpPlnI3C1ZbuBEAYJo/rMVKks+Kp+N2VnoyiaNW7O0
    O5TwObRz/Q7r0AP5WCvL/NrDwO1C7An8u827bIMh1gZKTZ4+XGVJApW7j20abm+r
    zk7k4CSUoB3rut020I3+GJtJmk2Wf+vb0y8Jimmzf6jfEP7knRwVTF6IdwW23ZGr
    RizS5xuxqQqHPAF7Js2lTEONhM6Zi+pvuqbGI2J9VGJg/Q8PhA26dKbY1HDprIId
    qBzQnsHZ8YTEACloRNwCysM+x1snqZPMZdjXMUpEVXIlBbwXOFpkpZnz/uaPReOI
    tg2fOb9pui1wCy4PDBmog3FshD+fzF1E3FK/0tCVGXujbGqw7aFUQMxF4O0Ikt9E
    NC1aOlUZIlo9hcDL3tN/QZHzOHEWGE6SnNTtnNMfbU6zxYcjG0EaGxkAGGkH2kQQ
    qKCjDexannAjUmSdsql0uB0qeSGsTOPvx+LlLLjWiukXEZRNlr3/6BEfGQARAQAB
    tCZJbWFuIEFsaXBvdXIgPGltYW4uYWxpcDIwMDFAZ21haWwuY29tPokCRwQTAQgA
    MRYhBFWipd6EeSusxsruP7WIKFDgTI0qBQJnPYxWAhsDBAsJCAcFFQgJCgsFFgID
    AQAACgkQtYgoUOBMjSoOaw//dco0eCc1FAChHlMpPC9R06Y2ihfCYD7F6VfqoosU
    WBM0b/wxPrbUVSu5quW038nnr1Q+yOK+fWSHxDicIVEgmEgX3NhXFRSt6tRH5FSC
    7kaW0KxAx7JsZs4uZ0dCVXf8txAaLs5W3L0VmkiLNintWWCNV7QWDvrn7mg+lzuv
    4A8dy0BeARoYq9462J4SCyqnWLr80UHAgQ1StzhReBK8oEdLQ5VyXBXDZzL7i/W6
    XXQqekle1npMGpUF9ICwU7Tgt0vWGMmfnAaJIq3qkHhyj7PkXASpe8dAWphUV3Aw
    t01Hi6/B25P1+Yx7s8zU6qSjRqeNSih7cY1MfSintF/YK/WJo1PjNRUzPL0QwS2B
    2dA+QHLKq2pzRTf29cvKE8frgHl5xnfWGrVmHs4JyS4x5Y7JkOMNU1bWTMehkVCJ
    HtWJEnTy+4ya392qfzWSdKm+GJMkxPjyQeK/PhTwV+jmIfZ+8BUMyDN+WvSb8/B+
    BbV88HAtxPvloswPk/YhAcuutBq6SeZSePQuCGUqtuEJkw22rXjxy5edskrJAGNh
    cGhH5cfXa7AQhe4BKwCs4nNSiZryfUFtJ0q2FuWFg0b6gBzFMvWiDOAF+z7p0Uav
    jT4TeT1I0bclhWJIYb4tCqCd0USWXNbSt5P8DnbkVA5kZvxxSDXCeFUZNl9mvgc+
    PU65Ag0EZz2MVgEQAOGsXC1MrVeKCKFd3RVZHGy8WmcuMiN+iT3+/T1VcXUO7vGk
    GQIkpYmJnxJkgmJp2VsRTL+Ie/sScPg75UIyc/VsmUCsbEiiYNy/9/g9/8OAhqMV
    BYBEook6t2jnK1+2Qf71VlZNYVFHTbCDAhwkDTgd0xSPjB7Yp6OvywQhqv62ja2y
    FTQk0pGukuyGCCzwZx+uGykv3LluLbKwBqpfbvDHdptb2/etsTAra4kGV3qYbePI
    EreTHN8OcboDzsIs2cnphU0tdeZEUqmc5QHIGlCve/pieGnOp7ccWwfwQQAxaJh+
    2gcEwoyCWY8uRwDPrgIc/oqEkK5rGU1hfin7UPkl7Ow0EdEVxhQBSYLh3UhupZxS
    /4Dob0aTpR8rjlC0Wz8IPR5XJl9rdon4Cgi6W7XwVcuE1/1NVCraoRT2BQGTiwIm
    3ICHmQZmN1NiO211IyDDEI/eKHBAjm0Fn6D+LOvePUaKxmY6kAlpjnpHIOX98hPN
    0uvZUreefviiyheBOEUh9lln3uRaNlCqVrPoJV2vyx/hGyk9tjGA3vZpfSmDnOXy
    ukLpVX9SukT6W6jEjL5Wc2DH9BfY63vVvDWxODueWExJ6CIerZvkmWV/k/rQqsqY
    DAhRR0dixoRLy+7i5oaP8duOOnbubBDD9bO8b8GsrgtkNc8oAFdhrpTUlAG9ABEB
    AAGJAjYEGAEIACAWIQRVoqXehHkrrMbK7j+1iChQ4EyNKgUCZz2MVwIbDAAKCRC1
    iChQ4EyNKonED/4uixRWRcL+Uh9gj4s5bJ8WKYoQFZmaI/kc6DqT/9+d3nalYCzp
    l8H9TFyuNsOi0DEOwQXp/maBVsELZInbVrxiNb6F7jPNNjYSXAJViLarmxc0u0Th
    yujCN6cgZFqhxynkEV6+VqBIy7beeIDCIfinups6G94mSqG5CqwRDBCytF/P3XIG
    U6yOoPJUOgVsmc4wGT5k0EKSOlJ/lU4nQM5oCY5y6AbkampAPQpth07ucS7ld2aC
    N5xyaL/P8R4FOurGthF1zL9dDUl9xRcOuxobn+wJgy8/8wZ/X786/unHeH5Q/Vni
    hpxHrRUCI+4R2nJtA9LMcDH1MkPJW0gT2RBDnLJuQaVQhu374snFXv0mI52gYVEI
    4bipi0Mzc4YixSElgX0ZJWVB0Xsv4e18B/jfGYtjEF1v/fEOzy+qiBNke1LFfRrP
    akRHlREXU+d8LV2oWS52XPkHSruG7l30uocejjiIa1kLm6neeQ+uz9JmAiHw4pEV
    WWwlf4AVvy2kpk/TomFl83Nen/NOi7FzPw6N4VJe1fimfRRPetOx3jnZrLScYUWp
    G81NTYbFbQPXQb823dC2UJRxLiZxMhqAKj3J7nXJg2Krk8ahUmre7xFTY/wvepOQ
    uOF+1xz2LXDeGUiH9IXqrbfx+nWlznKYr86EHF++hTxlV6dr6iELr8XFEg==
    =mAs8
    -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

### Verify a post#

1. Import my key once:

       curl -O https://blog.alipourimjourneys.ir/keys/iman-alipour-pgp.asc
       gpg --import iman-alipour-pgp.asc

2. Download the post and its signature (each post links them):

       curl -O https://blog.alipourimjourneys.ir/sources/posts/hello-world.md
       curl -O https://blog.alipourimjourneys.ir/sources/posts/hello-world.md.asc

3. Verify:

       gpg --verify hello-world.md.asc hello-world.md

Downloads: Markdown · Signature (.asc)

Verify locally:

    curl -fSLO https://blog.alipour.eu/sources/about.md
    curl -fSLO https://blog.alipour.eu/sources/about.md.asc
    gpg --verify about.md.asc about.md

Open on GitHub ↗
Comments powered by Isso
RSS · Visitors this week: —