Hammas Bin Tanveer

I work on network performance at SpaceX Starlink and completed a Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Iowa’s SPARTA Lab (advised by Prof. Rishab Nithyanand). My research spans IPv6 scanning and censorship measurement, and empirical analysis of satellite networking systems.

Publications Download CV Google Scholar
Hammas Bin Tanveer portrait

Experience & Education

SpaceX — Starlink · Data Engineer II · Aug 2024 – Present
Network performance engineering.
SPARTA Lab, University of Iowa · Research Assistant · Aug 2019 – May 2025
IPv6 scanning/censorship measurement, honeyprefix telescopes, and ethical Internet measurements (Advisor: Prof. Rishab Nithyanand).
CAIDA, UC San Diego · Visiting Researcher · May 2023 – Oct 2023
IPv6 block‑list generation methods and measurement infrastructure.
Censored Planet Lab, University of Michigan · Visiting Scholar · Jun 2022 – Nov 2022
Censorship measurement methods (Advisor: Prof. Roya Ensafi).
Open Technology Fund · Senior Information Controls Fellow · 2022
Awarded funding to study Internet censorship over IPv6 with Censored Planet.
Teaching Assistant · University of Iowa · 2019 – 2020
Programming Languages (JavaScript, Haskell).
Teaching Assistant · LUMS · 2018 – 2019
Intro to Programming (C++), Operating Systems.
Technology for People Initiative (LUMS) · Research Assistant · 2018 – 2019

Education

Ph.D., Computer Science, University of Iowa — Aug 2019 – May 2025

Advisor: Prof. Rishab Nithyanand

B.S., Computer Science, Lahore University of Management Sciences — Aug 2015 – May 2019

Advisor: Prof. Fareed Zaffar

Updates

  • Aug 2025: Posted IPv6 censorship preprints — ProtoScan and Mind the IP Gap. ProtoScan · Mind the IP Gap
  • Aug 2024: Presented at NITRD Joint Engineering Team (JET) — "Making Sense of Constellations" (slides PDF). PDF
  • Aug 2024: Joined SpaceX — Starlink as Data Engineer II.
  • Jul 2024: Talk coverage on Security Boulevard: USENIX Security ’23. Read
  • Nov 2023: Invited talk — IEEE VTS SAGWICS, Starlink scheduling. Event
  • Nov 2023: Published CoNEXT ’23 paper — Starlink scheduling methodologies. Paper
  • Aug 2023: Published USENIX Security ’23 paper — IPv6 scanning strategies. Paper
  • Sep 2023: Invited talk — UCSD SysNet SysLunch on IPv6 scanner block‑lists.
  • Mar 2022: Presented at IETF 113 (MAPRG) — Glowing in the Dark. Session · Video
  • 2022: Awarded Open Technology Fund — Information Controls Fellowship (Senior ICFP), $35,000 for 6 months. Fellow page
  • Jun–Nov 2022: Visiting Scholar, Censored Planet Lab, University of Michigan.
  • Aug 2019: Began Ph.D., University of Iowa; served as Teaching Assistant (2019–2020).

Publications

Peer‑Reviewed

USENIX Security ’23
Glowing in the Dark: Uncovering IPv6 Address Discovery and Scanning Strategies in the Wild
Hammas Bin Tanveer, Rachee Singh, Paul Pearce, Rishab Nithyanand. Paper
CoNEXT ’23
Making Sense of Constellations: Methodologies for Understanding Starlink’s Scheduling Algorithms
Hammas Bin Tanveer, Mike Puchol, Rachee Singh, Antonio Bianchi, Rishab Nithyanand. Paper
CoNEXT ’25
Unveiling IPv6 Scanning Dynamics: A Longitudinal Study Using Large‑Scale Proactive and Passive IPv6 Telescopes (to appear)
Hammas Bin Tanveer, Echo (Wai Sun) Chan, Ricky K. P. Mok, Sebastian Kappes, Philipp Richter, Oliver Gasser, John Ronan, Arthur Berger, kc Claffy. arXiv · Scholar

Preprints

arXiv ’25
ProtoScan: Measuring Censorship in IPv6
Jack Wampler, Hammas Bin Tanveer, Rishab Nithyanand, Eric Wustrow. arXiv
arXiv ’25
Mind the IP Gap: Measuring the Impact of IPv6 on DNS Censorship
Ian Martiny, Hammas Bin Tanveer, Jack Wampler, Rishab Nithyanand, Eric Wustrow. arXiv

Invited Talks

  • NITRD JET presentation (Aug 20, 2024) — Slides PDF.
  • IEEE VTS SAGWICS Seminar Series — Methodologies for Understanding Starlink’s Scheduling Algorithms, Nov 2023. Event.
  • UCSD SysNet SysLunch — Developing block‑list generation methods for IPv6 scanners, Sep 2023.
  • University of Iowa (CS3640) — Starlink Scheduling, Nov 2023; IPv6 Scanning Strategies, Oct 2022.
  • IETF 113 (MAPRG) — Uncovering IPv6 Address Discovery and Scanning Strategies in the Wild, Mar 2022.

Media & Mentions

Contact

Email: hammasbin.tanveer@spacex.com

Links: Google Scholar · LinkedIn · GitHub Pages

Topics

  • IPv6 scanning/address discovery; honeyprefix/telescope methods
  • Censorship measurement (DNS/HTTP/TLS), ethics & reproducibility
  • Satellite/LEO networking performance and scheduling
  • Network measurement platforms, active/passive telemetry
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