Matthew Wright Headshot

Matthew Wright

O'Sullivan Professor and Department Chair

Dean’s Office
Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences

585-475-5432
Office Location
Office Mailing Address
100 Lomb Memorial Drive Rochester, NY 14623 70-1781

Matthew Wright

O'Sullivan Professor and Department Chair

Dean’s Office
Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences

Education

BS, Harvey Mudd College; MS, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Bio

Matthew Wright, PhD, is a Kevin O’Sullivan Professor and the Chair of Cybersecurity at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Dr. Wright has co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed papers, including works appearing in top venues like IEEE S&P (“Oakland”), CCS, USENIX Security, NDSS, ACM CHI, INFOCOM, and numerous IEEE & ACM transactions. He won an NSF CAREER award in 2010 and has been PI on $5.8 million in externally funded projects. Within the field of cybersecurity, he has worked primarily in four topic areas: privacy and anonymity online, human factors in security, distributed systems security, and the application of AI to cybersecurity problems.

585-475-5432

Areas of Expertise

Currently Teaching

CSEC-472
3 Credits
Access control and authentication systems are some of the most critical components of cybersecurity ecosystems. This course covers the theory, design, and implementation of systems used in identification, authentication, authorization, and accountability processes with a focus on trust at each layer. Students will examine formal models of access control systems and approaches to system accreditation, the application of cryptography to authentication systems, and the implementation of IAAA principles in modern operating systems. A special focus will be placed on preparing students to research and write about future topics in this area.

In the News

  • May 11, 2026

    a headshot of representative James Talarico in front of hte Texas state flag with a play button in the middle of the image, indicating it is a video.

    The Southern Maryland Chronicle speaks to Matthew Wright, O’Sullivan Professor and chair of the Department of Cybersecurity, about the growing threat of AI-generated misinformation and deepfakes in political campaigns ahead of upcoming elections.

  • April 14, 2026

    A man with CGI prisims on his face with a sign indicating that a deepfake has been detected!

    The University of Mississippi writes about a new book from Andrea Hickerson, dean at Ole Miss and former RIT faculty member; Christopher Schwartz, research scientist in the Department of Cybersecurity; and Matthew Wright, O’Sullivan Professor and chair of the Department of Cybersecurity. The book, Fake-Checking: A Journalist's Guide to Deepfakes, is a practical guide that addresses growing concerns of AI-generated media's impact on accurate reporting.