Rebekah Overdorf is Professor of Security and Trustworthiness of Online Information at the Faculty of Computer Science at Ruhr University Bochum and a member of the Research Center Trustworthy Data Science and Security (RC Trust). Her research lies at the intersection of security, privacy, and data science, with a particular focus on how manipulation shapes online information environments. She investigates how malicious actors exploit platform mechanisms at scale, creates novel attack models to understand emerging threats, and develops defensive tools that help detect, understand, and mitigate manipulation - even without platform cooperation. The overall aim of her work is to restore trust in digital information.
Rebekah Overdorf joined Ruhr University Bochum in March 2025. She is also affiliated with the Cluster of Excellence CASA - Cybersecurity in the Age of Large-Scale Adversaries, where she collaborates closely with researchers across the University Alliance Ruhr. The interdisciplinary cybersecurity ecosystem in Bochum played a major role in her decision to relocate to the region: “Bochum brings a bunch of people together that are really smart on a topic I am interested in,” she says. “It’s a good environment!”
Her research can be broadly divided into two areas. First, she examines existing online attacks, with a focus on security. Second, she explores potential future attacks with a focus on privacy, aiming to prevent them before they become real-world threats. More security and privacy for people on the internet - this is the guiding principle behind her work.
