Neil Gong

Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Neil Gong is interested in cybersecurity and data privacy with a recent focus on the intersections between security, privacy, and machine learning. On one hand, he leverages machine learning techniques to study security and privacy. On the other hand, he builds secure and privacy-preserving machine learning. He has received an NSF CAREER Award, an Army Research Office (ARO) Young Investigator Award, an IBM Faculty Award, and an NDSS Distinguished Paper Award Honorable Mention. He received a B.E. from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2010 (with the highest honor) and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley in 2015. During 2015-2019, he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Iowa State University.

Appointments and Affiliations

  • Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Assistant Professor of Computer Science

Contact Information

  • Office Location: Box 90291, Durhamn, NC 27708
  • Office Phone: +1 919 660 5252
  • Email Address: neil.gong@duke.edu
  • Websites:

Education

  • B.S.E. University of Science and Technology of China (China), 2010
  • D.Phil. University of California, Berkeley, 2015

Research Interests

Security, privacy, and machine learning. 

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

  • Young Investigator Award. Army Research Office (ARO). 2021
  • Distinguished Paper Award Honorable Mention. NDSS. 2019
  • Best Paper Award. SADFE. 2018
  • CAREER Award. National Science Foundation. 2018
  • Paper Selected for Fast Tracking. INFOCOM. 2017
  • PNAS Paper Selected as "The Best Scientific Figures in 2012". WIRED. 2012
  • Guo Moruo Scholarship. USTC. 2010

Courses Taught

  • ECE 899: Special Readings in Electrical Engineering
  • ECE 891: Internship
  • ECE 663: Machine Learning in Adversarial Settings
  • ECE 590: Advanced Topics in Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • ECE 560: Computer and Information Security
  • ECE 356: Computer Network Architecture
  • COMPSCI 356: Computer Network Architecture

In the News

Representative Publications

  • Jia, Jinyuan, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “Calibrate: Frequency Estimation and Heavy Hitter Identification with Local Differential Privacy via Incorporating Prior Knowledge.” In IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM), 2019.
  • Wang, Binghui, Jinyuan Jia, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “Graph-based Security and Privacy Analytics via Collective Classification with Joint Weight Learning and Propagation.” In ISOC Network and Distributed System Security Symposium (NDSS), 2019.
  • Gong, Neil Zhenqiang, and Bin Liu. “Attribute Inference Attacks in Online Social Networks.” ACM Transactions on Privacy and Security 21, no. 1 (February 28, 2018): 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1145/3154793.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “AttriGuard: A Practical Defense Against Attribute Inference Attacks via Adversarial Machine Learning.” In USENIX Security Symposium, 2018.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, Binghui Wang, Le Zhang, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “AttriInfer: Inferring User Attributes in Online Social Networks Using Markov Random Fields.” In Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on World Wide Web, 2017.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “Calibrate: Frequency Estimation and Heavy Hitter Identification with Local Differential Privacy via Incorporating Prior Knowledge.” In IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM), 2019.
  • Wang, Binghui, Jinyuan Jia, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “Graph-based Security and Privacy Analytics via Collective Classification with Joint Weight Learning and Propagation.” In ISOC Network and Distributed System Security Symposium (NDSS), 2019.
  • Gong, Neil Zhenqiang, and Bin Liu. “Attribute Inference Attacks in Online Social Networks.” ACM Transactions on Privacy and Security 21, no. 1 (February 28, 2018): 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1145/3154793.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “AttriGuard: A Practical Defense Against Attribute Inference Attacks via Adversarial Machine Learning.” In USENIX Security Symposium, 2018.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, Binghui Wang, Le Zhang, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “AttriInfer: Inferring User Attributes in Online Social Networks Using Markov Random Fields.” In Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on World Wide Web, 2017.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “Calibrate: Frequency Estimation and Heavy Hitter Identification with Local Differential Privacy via Incorporating Prior Knowledge.” In IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM), 2019.
  • Wang, Binghui, Jinyuan Jia, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “Graph-based Security and Privacy Analytics via Collective Classification with Joint Weight Learning and Propagation.” In ISOC Network and Distributed System Security Symposium (NDSS), 2019.
  • Gong, Neil Zhenqiang, and Bin Liu. “Attribute Inference Attacks in Online Social Networks.” ACM Transactions on Privacy and Security 21, no. 1 (February 28, 2018): 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1145/3154793.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “AttriGuard: A Practical Defense Against Attribute Inference Attacks via Adversarial Machine Learning.” In USENIX Security Symposium, 2018.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, Binghui Wang, Le Zhang, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “AttriInfer: Inferring User Attributes in Online Social Networks Using Markov Random Fields.” In Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on World Wide Web, 2017.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “Calibrate: Frequency Estimation and Heavy Hitter Identification with Local Differential Privacy via Incorporating Prior Knowledge.” In IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM), 2019.
  • Wang, Binghui, Jinyuan Jia, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “Graph-based Security and Privacy Analytics via Collective Classification with Joint Weight Learning and Propagation.” In ISOC Network and Distributed System Security Symposium (NDSS), 2019.
  • Gong, Neil Zhenqiang, and Bin Liu. “Attribute Inference Attacks in Online Social Networks.” ACM Transactions on Privacy and Security 21, no. 1 (February 28, 2018): 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1145/3154793.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “AttriGuard: A Practical Defense Against Attribute Inference Attacks via Adversarial Machine Learning.” In USENIX Security Symposium, 2018.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, Binghui Wang, Le Zhang, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “AttriInfer: Inferring User Attributes in Online Social Networks Using Markov Random Fields.” In Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on World Wide Web, 2017.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “Calibrate: Frequency Estimation and Heavy Hitter Identification with Local Differential Privacy via Incorporating Prior Knowledge.” In IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM), 2019.
  • Wang, Binghui, Jinyuan Jia, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “Graph-based Security and Privacy Analytics via Collective Classification with Joint Weight Learning and Propagation.” In ISOC Network and Distributed System Security Symposium (NDSS), 2019.
  • Gong, Neil Zhenqiang, and Bin Liu. “Attribute Inference Attacks in Online Social Networks.” ACM Transactions on Privacy and Security 21, no. 1 (February 28, 2018): 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1145/3154793.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “AttriGuard: A Practical Defense Against Attribute Inference Attacks via Adversarial Machine Learning.” In USENIX Security Symposium, 2018.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, Binghui Wang, Le Zhang, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “AttriInfer: Inferring User Attributes in Online Social Networks Using Markov Random Fields.” In Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on World Wide Web, 2017.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “Calibrate: Frequency Estimation and Heavy Hitter Identification with Local Differential Privacy via Incorporating Prior Knowledge.” In IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM), 2019.
  • Wang, Binghui, Jinyuan Jia, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “Graph-based Security and Privacy Analytics via Collective Classification with Joint Weight Learning and Propagation.” In ISOC Network and Distributed System Security Symposium (NDSS), 2019.
  • Gong, Neil Zhenqiang, and Bin Liu. “Attribute Inference Attacks in Online Social Networks.” ACM Transactions on Privacy and Security 21, no. 1 (February 28, 2018): 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1145/3154793.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “AttriGuard: A Practical Defense Against Attribute Inference Attacks via Adversarial Machine Learning.” In USENIX Security Symposium, 2018.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, Binghui Wang, Le Zhang, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “AttriInfer: Inferring User Attributes in Online Social Networks Using Markov Random Fields.” In Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on World Wide Web, 2017.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “Calibrate: Frequency Estimation and Heavy Hitter Identification with Local Differential Privacy via Incorporating Prior Knowledge.” In IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM), 2019.
  • Wang, Binghui, Jinyuan Jia, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “Graph-based Security and Privacy Analytics via Collective Classification with Joint Weight Learning and Propagation.” In ISOC Network and Distributed System Security Symposium (NDSS), 2019.
  • Gong, Neil Zhenqiang, and Bin Liu. “Attribute Inference Attacks in Online Social Networks.” ACM Transactions on Privacy and Security 21, no. 1 (February 28, 2018): 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1145/3154793.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “AttriGuard: A Practical Defense Against Attribute Inference Attacks via Adversarial Machine Learning.” In USENIX Security Symposium, 2018.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, Binghui Wang, Le Zhang, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “AttriInfer: Inferring User Attributes in Online Social Networks Using Markov Random Fields.” In Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on World Wide Web, 2017.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “Calibrate: Frequency Estimation and Heavy Hitter Identification with Local Differential Privacy via Incorporating Prior Knowledge.” In IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM), 2019.
  • Wang, Binghui, Jinyuan Jia, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “Graph-based Security and Privacy Analytics via Collective Classification with Joint Weight Learning and Propagation.” In ISOC Network and Distributed System Security Symposium (NDSS), 2019.
  • Gong, Neil Zhenqiang, and Bin Liu. “Attribute Inference Attacks in Online Social Networks.” ACM Transactions on Privacy and Security 21, no. 1 (February 28, 2018): 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1145/3154793.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “AttriGuard: A Practical Defense Against Attribute Inference Attacks via Adversarial Machine Learning.” In USENIX Security Symposium, 2018.
  • Jia, Jinyuan, Binghui Wang, Le Zhang, and Neil Zhenqiang Gong. “AttriInfer: Inferring User Attributes in Online Social Networks Using Markov Random Fields.” In Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on World Wide Web, 2017.