Biography
Dr. Samaneh Tajalizadehkhoob is a scientist and strategist based in Rotterdam with PhD in the intersection between web security, machine learning and policy. She operates at the critical intersection of identifying complex security threats, solving them through Machine Learning, and translating technical evidence into global policy. As the Director of SSR Research at ICANN, she bridges the gap between deep technical security issues and the frameworks that ensure the stability and resiliency of the internet’s unique identifier systems.
Systems & Tools: She leads ICANN's Domain Abuse Activity Reporting (DAAR) system and envisioned and created ICANN Domain Metrica. Her work includes developing scientific tools for vulnerability discovery, patch management, and identifying banking fraud.
She co-created Tranco, a manipulation-resistant ranking of the top 1M websites. It has become the gold standard for security research, with over 650+ citations across academia and industry. Samaneh has authored publications on web security, cyber security, Internet measurements, underground economy, and development of security metrics design using advance statistical methods.
She serves on the ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) and was one of 12 members of the IGF Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) in 2024 and 2025 advising the UN secretary general on technical security topics.
As a thought leader, Samaneh writes brief, impactful articles to simplify complex security topics for the global community. She is also an active mentor for the ITU’s Women in Cyber program, supporting the next generation of women in the field.
Samaneh speaks English, Farsi, Dutch and has basic knowledge in Arabic. Outside of her professional work, she is a competitive backgammon player, a tennis enthusiast, and a piano player.