About Arun Vishwanath

Dr. Arun Vishwanath is a cybersecurity researcher, author, and strategist specializing in human-centered cybersecurity, human cyber risk, social engineering, phishing, artificial intelligence, and digital trust. For more than two decades, his research has examined why people become vulnerable to cyber threats, how human cyber risk can be measured, and how organizations can build greater cyber resilience.

He is the author of The Weakest Link: How to Diagnose, Detect, and Defend Users from Phishing (MIT Press, 2023), an evidence-based examination of human vulnerability to phishing and social engineering. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, and he has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and scholarly works on cybersecurity, social engineering, cyber hygiene, behavioral science, artificial intelligence, and digital risk.

Dr. Vishwanath is a Distinguished Expert for the NSA’s Science of Security and Privacy program and a former Faculty Associate at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. He previously served as a tenured faculty member at the University at Buffalo and held a faculty position at Indiana University Bloomington. He currently serves as Chief Technology Officer of Avant Research Group and is the founder of Cyber Hygiene Academy.

His recent work focuses on human-centered cybersecurity, AI-enabled social engineering, behavioral cyber risk, and the changing relationship between artificial intelligence, people, and digital trust. In 2026, he contributed to research with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) advancing the understanding of human-centered cybersecurity.

Dr. Vishwanath has presented his research and perspectives at major cybersecurity, national-security, academic, and policy forums, including Black Hat, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Army Cyber Institute. His cybersecurity research and commentary have appeared in CNN, Wired, Politico, The Washington Post, USA Today, Scientific American, and hundreds of other national and international media outlets.

Based in Buffalo, New York, Dr. Vishwanath is available for television, radio, print, podcast, and other media interviews, as well as speaking engagements and expert commentary on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, phishing and social engineering, human cyber risk, cyber hygiene, digital trust, and emerging cyber threats.

Arun Vishwanath Official Website

Avant Research Official Website

Arun Vishwanath Official YouTube Channel

Media, speaking, and professional inquiries: arun@arunvishwanath.us