David Thiel

David Thiel

David Thiel

  • Chief Technologist, Stanford Internet Observatory
  • Big Data Architect

Biography

David is the Chief Technologist of the Stanford Internet Observatory. In addition to architecting SIO's compute and data infrastructure, he performs research in the areas of coordinated disinformation campaigns, the dynamics of various "alt" platforms, decentralized social media, and issues affecting online child safety. He is also a managing editor of the Journal of Online Trust and Safety.

Prior to Stanford, David worked at Facebook, primarily focusing on security and safety for Facebook Connectivity, a collection of projects aimed at providing faster and less expensive internet connectivity to unconnected or underconnected communities. Projects included the Terragraph mesh networking system, the Magma open source mobile network platform, Express Wi-Fi and Facebook Lite.

Before Facebook, David was a VP at iSEC Partners and later NCC Group, managing the North American security consulting and research team, as well as producing original security research, coordinating vulnerability disclosure and performing security assessments and penetration testing for companies across a wide range of business sectors.

David has spoken at various industry conferences, including Black Hat, DEFCON, PacSec and the Crimes Against Children Conference. He is also the author of iOS Application Security (No Starch Press) and coauthor of Mobile Application Security (McGraw-Hill).

publications

Reports
December 2023

Investigation Finds AI Image Generation Models Trained on Child Abuse

Author(s)
cover link Investigation Finds AI Image Generation Models Trained on Child Abuse
Reports
June 2023

Generative ML and CSAM: Implications and Mitigations

Author(s)
cover link Generative ML and CSAM: Implications and Mitigations

In The News

three synthetically generated images of the same child, each less blurry than the previous, on a blue background showing the image code.
Blogs

New report finds generative machine learning exacerbates online sexual exploitation

The Stanford Internet Observatory and Thorn find rapid advances in generative machine learning make it possible to create realistic imagery that is facilitating child sexual exploitation.
cover link New report finds generative machine learning exacerbates online sexual exploitation
collage of photos including group shot of SIO staff and of the Stanford Dish
News

The Stanford Internet Observatory Turns Three

SIO releases its annual report summarizing its first three years of research, teaching and policy and laying the path for the years to come.
cover link The Stanford Internet Observatory Turns Three
Arrows pointing toward Middle Eastern and Asian countries
Blogs

Unheard Voice

Stanford Internet Observatory collaborated with Graphika to analyze a large network of accounts removed from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in our latest report. This information operation likely originated in the United States and targeted a range of countries in the Middle East and Central Asia.
cover link Unheard Voice