Venkat Venkatakrishnan

Venkat Venkatakrishnan (Photo: Jenny Fontaine/University of Illinois Chicago)

Venkat Venkatakrishnan, professor of computer science and director of research at the Discovery Partners Institute, focuses his research on looking for unexpected vulnerabilities in the computer programs we use every day, tracing hackers as they infiltrate computer systems. He then works with businesses and websites to plug the holes.

Venkatakrishnan has uncovered web scams for transferring money from one bank account to another, problems with mobile check-depositing apps and ways that hackers get shopping sites to send goods for free. He has developed several techniques to secure desktop systems from cyberattacks.