Alexis Cao

I am a first year PhD student at Johns Hopkins University, advised by Professor Matthew Green. My research interests are in cryptography and anonymous communication networks.
I visited the COSIC group at KU Leuven from July to September 2025 where I worked on improving the security and privacy of mixnets under the supervision of Professor Claudia Diaz.
I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University in May 2025. Outside of research, I love doing jiujitsu when I have time and I am currently a blue belt.
Contact: alexiscao22(at)gmail(dot)com.
Papers
- Analysis and Attacks on the Reputation System of Nym
Xinmu Alexis Cao, Matthew GreenProceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies 2026 (PoPETs '26)
Talks
- Beyond VPN and Tor: Protect Your Privacy With Decentralized Mixnets
Academic Service
- PoPETs 2027: Tadpole Reviewer
- ACM CCS 2026: Cycle 2 sub-reviewer
Volunteer
- DEFCON: I volunteered at Red Team Village, Physical Security Village, and AppSec Village at DEFCON 30.
- TraceLabs: I was a volunteer from 2021 to 2024, where I participated in the Search Parties using open-source information to support missing person investigations.