Yinxin Wan

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at UMass Boston. My current research interests include cybersecurity, IoT, network measurement, data-driven networked systems, and quantum networking.

I obtained my Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from Arizona State University (ASU). I was supervised by Prof. Guoliang Xue and Prof. Kuai Xu. I received my B.E degree in Information Security from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) under the supervision of Prof. Kaiping Xue.

[ Curriculum Vitae] [ Google Scholar] [ DBLP] [ Linkedin] [ Github]

Contact

University of Massachusetts Boston
Computer Science Department
McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, M-3-201-06
100 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125
E-mail: Yinxin.Wan[AT]umb[dot]edu

Education

Ph.D. in Computer Science
2018 - 2023, Arizona State University (ASU)
Co-Advisor: Prof. Guoliang Xue
Co-Advisor: Prof. Kuai Xu
Dean's Dissertation Award
B.E. in Information Security
2014 - 2018, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)
Outstanding Graduate Award

Publications

  • Most Vulnerable Attack Trace in a Probabilistic Attack Graph
       Xuanli Lin, Zhaofeng Zhang, Yinxin Wan, Ethan Z Teo, Guoliang Xue, Yanchao Zhang,
       accepted by IEEE Military Communications Conference (MILCOM), 2024.

  • Entanglement Distribution in LEO Satellite-based Dynamic Quantum Networks
       Alena Chang, Yinxin Wan, Xuanli Lin, Guoliang Xue, Arunabha Sen,
       accepted by IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM), 2024.

  • Quantum Communication in 6G Satellite Networks: Entanglement Distribution Across Changing Topologies
       Arunabha Sen, Christopher Sumnicht, Sandipan Choudhuri, Alena Chang, Guoliang Xue, Yinxin Wan,
       in Proc. of IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), 2024.

  • Entanglement Distribution in Satellite-based Dynamic Quantum Networks
       Alena Chang, Yinxin Wan, Guoliang Xue, Arunabha Sen,
       IEEE Network Magazine, 2023.

  • Exploring Machine Learning Algorithms for User Activity Inference from IoT Network Traffic
       Kuai Xu, Yinxin Wan, Xuanli Lin, Feng Wang, Guoliang Xue,
       in Proc. of IEEE International Conference on Mobile Ad Hoc and Smart Systems (MASS), 2023.

  • IoT System Vulnerability Analysis and Network Hardening with Shortest Attack Trace in a Weighted Attack Graph
       Yinxin Wan, Xuanli Lin, Abdulhakim Sabur, Alena Chang, Kuai Xu, Guoliang Xue,
       in Proc. of ACM/IEEE Conference on Internet of Things Design and Implementation (IoTDI), 2023.
        Best Paper Award

  • Extracting Spatial Information of IoT Device Events for Smart Home Safety Monitoring
       Yinxin Wan, Xuanli Lin, Kuai Xu, Feng Wang, Guoliang Xue,
       in Proc. of IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM), 2023.

  • Inferring User Activities from IoT Device Events in Smart Homes: Challenges and Opportunities
       Xuanli Lin, Yinxin Wan, Kuai Xu, Feng Wang, Guoliang Xue,
       in Proc. of International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks (ICCCN), 2022 (invited).

  • An Effective Machine Learning Based Algorithm for Inferring User Activities from IoT Device Events
       Guoliang Xue, Yinxin Wan, Xuanli Lin, Kuai Xu, Feng Wang,
       IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications (JSAC).

  • IoTMosaic: Inferring User Activities from IoT Network Traffic in Smart Homes
       Yinxin Wan, Kuai Xu, Feng Wang, Guoliang Xue,
       in Proc. of IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM), 2022.

  • IoTAthena: Unveiling IoT Device Activities from Network Traffic
       Yinxin Wan, Kuai Xu, Feng Wang, Guoliang Xue,
       IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications (TWC).

  • Characterizing and Mining Traffic Patterns of IoT Devices in Edge Networks
       Yinxin Wan, Kuai Xu, Feng Wang, Guoliang Xue,
       IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering (TNSE).

  • Robust Resource Provisioning in Time-Varying Edge Networks
       Ruozhou Yu, Guoliang Xue, Yinxin Wan, Jian Tang, Dejun Yang, Yusheng Ji,
       in Proc. of ACM International Symposium on Mobile Ad Hoc Networking and Computing (MobiHoc), 2020.

  • IoTArgos: A Multi-Layer Security Monitoring System for Internet-of-Things in Smart Homes
       Yinxin Wan, Kuai Xu, Guoliang Xue, Feng Wang,
       in Proc. of IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM), 2020.

  • P4PCN: Privacy-Preserving Path Probing for Payment Channel Networks
       Ruozhou Yu, Yinxin Wan, Vishnu Teja Kilari, Guoliang Xue, Jian Tang, Dejun Yang,
       in Proc. of IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM), 2019.

  • Multidimensional Behavioral Profiling of Internet-of-Things in Edge Networks
       Kuai Xu, Yinxin Wan, Guoliang Xue, Feng Wang,
       in Proc. of IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Quality of Service (IWQoS), 2019.

  • Powering Smart Homes with Information-Centric Networking
       Kuai Xu, Yinxin Wan, Guoliang Xue,
       IEEE Communications Magazine.

  • LASA: Lightweight, Auditable and Secure Access Control in ICN with the Limitation of Access Times
       Peixuan He, Yinxin Wan, Qiudong Xia, Shaohua Li, Jianan Hong, Kaiping Xue,
       in Proc. of IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), 2018.

    • Awards

    2023, ASU Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, Dean's Dissertation Award
    2023, IoTDI, Best Paper Award
    2023, INFOCOM, Student Travel Grant
    2023, ASU School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, Doctoral Fellowship Award
    2022, INFOCOM, Student Conference Award
    2022, ASU School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, Doctoral Fellowship Award
    2020, INFOCOM, Student Conference Award
    2020, ASU, Engineering Graduate Fellowship Award
    2020, ASU School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering, Doctoral Fellowship Award

    Teaching

    2024 Fall, CS 449 Introduction to Computer Security
    2024 Spring, CS 449 Introduction to Computer Security
    2023 Fall, CS 449 Introduction to Computer Security

    Professional Services

    Publicity Chair of: IEEE INFOCOM 2025
    Poster Chair of: IEEE IPCCC 2024
    Reviewer of:
      IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking (ToN)
      IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing (TMC)
      IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing (TDSC)
      IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications (TWC)
      IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management (TNSM)
      IEEE Internet of Things Journal
      Springer Journal of Network and Systems Management (JONS)
    TPC of:
      IEEE INFOCOM'25
      IEEE PST'24
      IEEE IPCCC'23
      IEEE ICCCN'23
      IEEE INFOCOM'23 PerAI-6G Workshop
      IEEE INFOCOM'22 PerAI-6G Workshop