My picture

I’m a master’s student at RUB with a growing interest in formal verification. I’m working as a research assistant at the “Secure Compilation” Group at MPI-SP, led by Prof. Cătălin Hrițcu. I’m interested in applying programming languages and compiler theory for developing formally verified defenses against various attacks on software.

Before that, I worked and did my bachelor thesis at the Heinz-Nixdorf Research Group for Cryptocurrencies and Smart Contracts, led by Dr. Clara Schneidewind. There, I worked on developing a static analysis procedure for verifying (Ethereum) smart contracts secure.

I also enjoy TAing in the courses offered by MPI-SP, since these courses initially sparked my interest in research.

Publications

Conference papers

Triosecuris: Formally Verified Protection Against Speculative Control-Flow Hijacking

Jonathan Baumann, Yonghyun Kim, Yan Farba, Catalin Hritcu, Julay Leatherman-Brooks

39th IEEE Computer Security Foundations Symposium (CSF) (2026)

Talks

Combining Program and Protocol Analysis for Frontrunning Resistance in Smart Contracts

Sebastian Holler, Yan Farba, and Clara Schneidewind

Workshop on Foundations of Computer Security (FCS) (2026)

Teaching

Proofs are Programs

Clara Schneidewind, Cătălin Hrițcu (lecturers); Yonghyun Kim, Yan Farba (TAs)

2026

Functional Programming

Excellent Teaching Award Winner
Clara Schneidewind, Jana Hofmann (lecturers); Federico Badaloni, Jonathan Baumann, Yan Farba (TAs)

2025/2026

Education

Bachelor thesis

Generation of Independence Constraints in Smart Contracts for Front-running Resistance

Yan Farba, supervised by Clara Schneidewind and Sebastian Holler

Ruhr-University Bochum (2025)