Suffolk Reporter

Researchers from Stony Brook University's Department of Computer Science have achieved a notable second place in the Social Impact category at New York University's Cyber Security Awareness Week (CSAW) 2024 Applied Research Competition. The team presented their paper, "The Times They Are A-Changin’: Characterizing Post-Publication Changes to Online News," which investigates how online news articles are altered after being published. The authors, Chris Tsoukaladelis, Brian Kondracki, Niranjan Balasubramanian, and Nick Nikiforakis, analyzed over 600,000 articles from U.S. publishers and found that 27 percent undergo post-publication changes that can sometimes change their original intent.

“It’s critical to understand how digital news evolves after publication,” stated Tsoukaladelis. “In an era where online information shapes public opinion, tracking these changes becomes crucial for maintaining media transparency.”

Another study from Nikiforakis’ lab titled "Like, Comment, Get Scammed: Characterizing Comment Scams on Media Platforms," authored by Xigao Li, Amir Rahmati, and Nick Nikiforakis, was among the top 15 finalists in the competition. This research focuses on scams carried out through user comments on media platforms and was presented at the Network and Distributed System Security Symposium.

“I am incredibly proud of our students for achieving this remarkable recognition at CSAW,” said Samir Das, professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science. “Placing second among nearly 200 submissions demonstrates the innovative and impactful nature of their research on digital news integrity. Our students are tackling critical challenges in today’s online information landscape.”

The CSAW Applied Research Competition is evaluated by experts from organizations such as Google and TIAA and emphasizes academic work that addresses real-world security issues.