Alum Schoolcraft earns international cyber honor

Recent University of North Georgia (UNG) graduate Alexander Schoolcraft is already gaining international recognition for his cybersecurity research. Schoolcraft earned the Best Paper Award at the Future Technologies Conference held Oct. 15-16 in Berlin, Germany.

He completed the paper, "An AI-assisted framework for automated malware reverse engineering and analysis," under the mentorship of Dr. Bryson Payne, director of UNG's Institute for Cyber Operations.

"To have our work selected for this recognition among such an accomplished international group of researchers is an incredible honor," Schoolcraft said. "Our research explores the use of artificial intelligence to assist with malware reverse engineering and analysis, with the goal of making complex analysis workflows more accessible, efficient and effective.”

Schoolcraft completed his Master of Science in computer science this summer and will participate in this fall's commencement. He previously earned bachelor's degrees in computer science and cybersecurity with a minor in machine learning in December 2024.

The Future Technologies Conference received 500 submissions, and 200 papers were accepted from 54 countries. Eight received some type of recognition. Schoolcraft's paper stood above them all.

"Just being willing to take on an AI and cybersecurity challenge of that size and complexity already put him probably in the top 10 percent for a conference like this," Payne said. "But then to do systematic research at such a high level, to do it with such excellence, that's what really made his paper stand out. Finally, he was able to communicate his results in language that a general technical audience would understand, winning the Best Paper Award at the end."

Schoolcraft served in the Army from 2008-2013 before first enrolling at UNG in 2021. A Dahlonega, Georgia, resident who is originally from Antioch, California, Schoolcraft said he has been grateful to gain so much valuable cyber knowledge and experience at his hometown university.

In addition to Payne, Schoolcraft said faculty members Dr. Yong Wei and Dr. Mingyuan Yan have helped him lay a solid foundation for his career. He is now looking for Ph.D. programs so he can teach cyber in college and inspire others like his professors have pushed him. Yan appreciates Schoolcraft's positive demeanor and his focus.

"He is the type of student who knows what he wants," Yan said. "He works hard and patiently to achieve it."