About Me
I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate and a member of the Institute for Computing Systems Architecture at the University of Edinburgh, where I completed my PhD under the supervision of Prof Paul Patras.
My research focuses on the computational principles of intelligence and their applications, including knowledge representation, optimization strategies for learning algorithms, and the security and privacy of AI systems.
Prior to my PhD, I obtained a joint Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Degree from École Supérieure d'Ingénieurs en Électronique et Électrotechnique (ESIEE Paris) and Mundiapolis University.
In addition to my academic role, I am also a Machine Learning Research Engineer at Net AI, where I contribute to the design of innovative AI solutions for networked systems.
Latest News
- November, 2025 – Delivered a research talk for visiting undergraduate students from DIS on the role of structure in machine learning.
- October, 2025 – Delivered a seminar talk at Queen Mary University of London's Centre for Networks, Communications and Systems on "The Shape of Knowledge: From Hidden Structure to Data-Efficient Machine Learning."
- August, 2025 – Our paper ECHO: Effective Coreset-Driven Learning via Hierarchical Optimizations is accepted for publication at the IEEE International Conference on Data Mining.
- April, 2025 – Our paper End-to-End Facial Expression Detection in Long Videos is available on ArXiv.
- January, 2025 – Our paper Pontus: A Memory-Efficient and High-Accuracy Approach for Persistence-Based Item Lookup in High-Velocity Data Streams is accepted for publication at the ACM Web Conference (WWW).
- October, 2024 – Delivered a seminar talk at the University of Glasgow's Networked Systems Research Lab on Edge Intelligence for Next-Generation Cybersecurity Systems.
- September, 2024 – Delivered an invited talk at Plexal's Technology Exploration event on Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Secure Communication Networks.
- July, 2024 – Received the SICSA 2024 Best Dissertation Award for my PhD thesis "Active Intelligence for Secure Systems".
- February, 2024 – Delivered an invited talk at the University of Cambridge's Machine Learning Systems Lab on the adversarial robustness of machine learning classifiers.
- December, 2023 – Our paper Cluster and Conquer: Malicious Traffic Classification at the Edge will appear in IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management.
- December, 2023 – Delivered an invited talk at Imperial College London's Networks and Systems Lab on the adversarial robustness of machine learning classifiers.
- December, 2023 – Delivered an invited talk at the University of Edinburgh's Informatics PhD viva workshop on "Insights from My Viva Experience".
- October, 2023 – Our paper Amoeba: Circumventing ML-supported Network Censorship via Adversarial Reinforcement Learning will appear in the Proceedings of the ACM on Networking (CoNEXT).
- September, 2023 – Successfully defended my PhD dissertation entitled "Active Intelligence for Secure Systems".
- August, 2023 – Our paper Sabre: Cutting through Adversarial Noise with Adaptive Spectral Filtering and Input Reconstruction will appear at IEEE S&P Spring 2024.
- August, 2023 – Our paper Deciphering Clusters with a Deterministic Measure of Clustering Tendency is accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering.
- February, 2022 – Delivered a research talk on adversarial ML at the 2022 SCONE meeting.
- October, 2021 – Delivered a research talk on "Towards Secure and Resilient IoT Infrastructures: an AI Perspective" at the 2021 ARM/University of Edinburgh Conference.
- August, 2021 – Our paper Spider: Deep Learning-driven Sparse Mobile Traffic Measurement Collection and Reconstruction is accepted for publication in IEEE Global Communications Conference.
- July, 2021 – Won the Brendan Murphy Memorial Prize at the 33rd Next Generation Networking, Multi-Service Networks workshop (Coseners).
- January, 2021 – Delivered a research talk on Adaptive Clustering Networks at the 2021 SCONE meeting.
- December, 2020 – Our paper Adaptive Clustering-based Malicious Traffic Classification at the Network Edge is accepted for publication in IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications.
- December, 2020 – Delivered a PhD Lightning talk on AI-Driven IoT Security and Privacy at the University of Edinburgh.
- November, 2019 – Delivered a seminar talk on Becoming a Researcher to ESIEE Paris's Data Science and AI (MSc) Students.
Recent Publications
1. ECHO: Effective Coreset-Driven Learning via Hierarchical Optimizations
2025 | IEEE International Conference on Data Mining
2. End-to-End Facial Expression Detection in Long Videos
2025 | Preprint
3. Pontus: A Memory-Efficient and High-Accuracy Approach for Persistence-Based Item Lookup in High-Velocity Data Streams
2025 | ACM TheWebConference
4. Neural Networks Decoded: Targeted and Robust Analysis of Neural Network Decisions via Causal Explanations and Reasoning
2024 | Preprint
5. Sabre: Cutting through Adversarial Noise with Adaptive Spectral Filtering and Input Reconstruction
2024 | IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy
6. Cluster and Conquer: Malicious Traffic Classification at the Edge
2023 | IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management
7. Amoeba: Circumventing ML-supported Network Censorship via Adversarial Reinforcement Learning
2023 | Proceedings of the ACM on Networking, CoNEXT
8. Deciphering Clusters with a Deterministic Measure of Clustering Tendency
2023 | IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering
9. Spider: Deep Learning-driven Sparse Mobile Traffic Measurement Collection and Reconstruction
2021 | IEEE Global Communications Conference
10. Adaptive Clustering-based Malicious Traffic Classification at the Network Edge
2021 | IEEE Conference on Computer Communications
Scholarly Activities
- Local Organisation and Finance chair for the EuroSys 2026 Conference.
- Programme Committee member for the IEEE S&P 2024 and IEEE S&P 2025 Poster Sessions.
- Reviewer for AISTATS, SECAI, Springer Nature, Computer Networks, Computer Communications, Communication Letters, IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management, ACM Transactions on Privacy and Security, and SIAM International Conference on Data Mining.
- Member of the EuroSys 2021 organisation committee.
- Member of the 2021 SICSA Conference Advisory Board.
- ED&I Committee Member for ContinualAI.
- Association member of ESIEE *NIX and ESIEE Space.
- Student volunteer for the organisation of the ACM ICPC 2015 World Finals.
- Chair of the Mundiapolis ACM chapter 2014-2015.
Contact
alec.frenn [at] ed.ac.uk
Address
Informatics Forum, 10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, UK