Jon Oberheide
EducationPhD, Computer science and engineering, 2011
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
OccupationComputer scientist · Entrepreneur
Known forCo-founding Duo Security
Websitejon.oberheide.org

Jon Oberheide is an American computer scientist and entrepreneur in cybersecurity. He co-founded Duo Security with Dug Song in 2010 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, serving as chief technology officer until Cisco acquired the company in August 2018 for $2.35 billion.[1]

Oberheide earned a PhD in computer science and engineering from the University of Michigan in 2011 under Farnam Jahanian, where his doctoral research included early work on cloud-based antivirus detection and the exposure of several critical vulnerabilities in the Android platform. He was named to the Forbes "30 Under 30" list in Technology in 2012[2] and to Crain's Detroit Business 40 Under 40 in 2019.[3]

Early life and education

Oberheide grew up in Troy, Michigan and began repairing computers for others in middle school.[3] While in high school he co-founded a web hosting business, and at seventeen he hacked into a honeypot operated by Dug Song, then chief security architect at Arbor Networks, who had set it up to identify skilled attackers. The encounter led to a professional relationship; the two later worked together at Arbor Networks before co-founding Duo Security.[4][5]

Oberheide attended the University of Michigan, where he earned a PhD in computer science and engineering in 2011 under the supervision of Farnam Jahanian.[2]

Research

CloudAV

At the 17th USENIX Security Symposium in July 2008, Oberheide, Evan Cooke, and Farnam Jahanian presented "CloudAV: N-Version Antivirus in the Network Cloud," proposing a model for malware detection in which antivirus scanning is offloaded from end-user devices to a network-based cloud service running multiple engines in parallel.[6] The paper evaluated twelve antivirus engines against 7,220 malware samples collected over a year.

Android security

During his doctoral research, Oberheide identified multiple vulnerabilities in the Android operating system affecting hundreds of millions of devices. His demonstrated attacks included delivery of malware via a malicious hyperlink and rootkitting a handset through unauthorized applications distributed to the platform.[5][4] He presented related work, "A Look at a Modern Mobile Security Model: Google's Android Platform," at CanSecWest 2009.[7]

Duo Security

Oberheide and Song co-founded Duo Security in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2010, building a cloud-delivered multi-factor authentication platform aimed at making enterprise security accessible across a wide range of devices.[4][5] Oberheide served as CTO; Song served as CEO.

The company raised $121 million across several funding rounds and reported more than $100 million in annual recurring revenue for 2017.[8] In October 2017, Duo reached a $1 billion valuation, making it only the second venture-capital-backed company in Michigan to reach that milestone.[8] Cisco announced the $2.35 billion acquisition in August 2018, completing it in October 2018.[1]

Later career

After the Cisco acquisition, Oberheide became an active board member, advisor, and investor in cybersecurity and enterprise software companies. His board positions include DNSFilter,[9] runZero, and Push Security. He also serves on the board of trustees of The Henry Ford museum.[10] He holds more than 70 patents related to cybersecurity.[11]

Recognition

Oberheide was named to the Forbes "30 Under 30" list in Technology in 2012 for his work in mobile security.[2] Crain's Detroit Business included him in its 40 Under 40 class of 2019.[3] He spoke at USENIX Enigma 2016 on enterprise security usability.[12]

References

  1. ^ Burns, Matt (August 2, 2018). "Cisco is buying Duo Security for $2.35B in cash". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  2. ^ "CSE Alum Jon Oberheide Named One of Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Technology". University of Michigan, College of Engineering. n.d. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  3. ^ "Jon Oberheide, 35". Crain's Detroit Business. n.d. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  4. ^ Castillo, Michelle (April 19, 2017). "How a high schooler hacked into a security company and ended up with a job". CNBC. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  5. ^ "Change or be changed". University of Michigan, College of Engineering. April 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  6. ^ Oberheide, Jon; Cooke, Evan; Jahanian, Farnam (2008). CloudAV: N-Version Antivirus in the Network Cloud. Proceedings of the 17th USENIX Security Symposium. USENIX. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  7. ^ "Research". jon.oberheide.org. n.d. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  8. ^ "Cisco to acquire Ann Arbor-based Duo Security in $2.35 billion deal". Crain's Detroit Business. August 2, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  9. ^ "Former Duo Security Co-Founder Jon Oberheide Joins DNSFilter Board of Directors". Business Wire. June 22, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  10. ^ "New Members Join The Henry Ford Board of Trustees". The Henry Ford. n.d. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  11. ^ "Jon Oberheide". Google Patents. n.d. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  12. ^ "Security and Usability from the Frontlines of Enterprise IT". USENIX. 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2026.