Muhammad Sumeer Ahmad from Stony Brook University's Computer Science Department has been selected as one of only three recipients worldwide for the prestigious Internet Society Pulse IPv6 Research Fellowship for 2025. Ahmad, a PhD student working under Professor Michalis Polychronakis, will conduct groundbreaking research on IPv6 network privacy over the next six months.
 

The fellowship, announced in commemoration of World IPv6 Launch Day's 13th anniversary, attracted applications from around the globe. Ahmad joins researchers Vaishnavi Raghavajosyula and Sachin Kumar Singh in this highly competitive program mentored by Professor Theophilus Benson from Carnegie Mellon University.
 

Ahmad's research project, titled "Rethinking Privacy in IPv6 Networks: A Large-Scale Study on IPv6-enabled Website Fingerprinting," addresses a critical but overlooked privacy challenge. His work explores how IPv6 networks, despite being designed with privacy enhancements, may still be vulnerable to sophisticated tracking techniques through website fingerprinting methods.

"IPv6's address architecture may unintentionally increase the potential for website fingerprinting and user tracking," according to the Internet Society announcement. Ahmad's large-scale empirical analysis will evaluate how IPv6 influences the uniqueness and persistence of web-based identifiers and explore countermeasures to protect user anonymity. 

The fellowship provides substantial support, including financial funding, access to extensive datasets, and mentorship from leading experts. Ahmad's findings will be published on the Internet Society Pulse platform and presented at international conferences, potentially influencing policy decisions for IPv6 implementation worldwide.
 

This recognition highlights Stony Brook's leadership in cybersecurity research and network security. Professor Polychronakis, Ahmad's advisor, is renowned for his expertise in malware analysis, network security, and privacy protection mechanisms. Ahmad's work represents the next generation of privacy-focused cybersecurity research with direct implications for global internet users.