Xiaofeng Wang 王晓峰
Associate Dean for Research
James H. Rudy Professor of Computer Science, Engineering and Informatics
Director of Center for Security and Privacy in Informatics, Computing, and Engineering
Director of Secure Computing
Indiana University
Table of Contents
Overview
Xiaofeng Wang, a prominent cybersecurity professor at Indiana University Bloomington (IUB), was terminated on March 28, 2025—the same day FBI and Department of Homeland Security agents conducted searches at his homes in Bloomington and Carmel, Indiana. The university has not publicly disclosed the reasons for his dismissal.
Professor Wang's wife, Nianli Ma—a library systems analyst at the university—was also terminated on March 24, 2025.
The American Association of University Professors' Bloomington chapter has criticized the university's handling of Wang's termination, asserting that it violated due process and university policies.
Professor Wang had recently accepted a position at a university in Singapore prior to his dismissal from IUB.
The specific reasons behind the federal investigation remain undisclosed, and the search warrants have been sealed. Efforts have been made to unseal these documents to gain clarity on the situation.
Professor Wang is reportedly represented by Attorneys Jason Covert and Jackie Bennett Jr. of Taft Law.
References and Links
2025/04/10 Indiana Daily Student: Nianli Ma terminated 4 days before FBI searched her and Xiaofeng Wang’s homes
2025/04/03 The Herald-Times: IU professor Xiaofeng Wang investigated for academic misconduct before FBI search
2025/04/02 Indiana Public Media: Lawyers: Fired cybersecurity expert and wife safe and not charged with a crime
2025/04/02 Indiana Daily Student: IU computer science faculty condemn Xiaofeng Wang’s termination in letter
2025/04/02 WIRED: Cybersecurity Professor Faced China-Funding Inquiry Before Disappearing, Sources Say
2025/04/02 South China Morning Post: Exclusive | US cyber expert Wang Xiaofeng ‘is safe’ after FBI raids, source says
2025/04/02 Indiana Daily Student: IU professor and library analyst face no pending criminal charges, lawyers say
2025/04/02 Reuters: Cybersecurity professor targeted by FBI has not been detained, lawyer says
2025/04/01 South China Morning Post: US cyber expert Wang Xiaofeng took Singapore job before FBI raids: university letter
2025/03/31 CNBC: Indiana U. fired cybersecurity professor XiaoFeng Wang on day FBI searched his homes: Union
2025/03/31 South China Morning Post: China Initiative 2.0? Raids on scientist Wang Xiaofeng revive spectre from first Trump era
2025/03/31 Indiana Daily Student: Faculty organization alleges IU violated policy in terminating Xiaofeng Wang
2025/03/31 Fox-59: IU faculty protests firing of professor in FBI probe
2025/03/31 WTHR: IU professor allegedly fired after FBI raids on homes in Carmel and Bloomington
2025/03/31 WIRED: Cybersecurity Professor Mysteriously Disappears as FBI Raids His Homes
2025/03/30 ARS Technica: FBI raids home of prominent computer scientist who has gone incommunicado
2025/03/30 Indiana Public Media: FBI won’t say why agents searched homes of IU cybersecurity expert
2025/03/28 WTHR: FBI seizes boxes of evidence after searching Carmel, Bloomington homes
Continuing Developments
On April 12, 2025, the Federation of Asian Professor Associations (FAPA) issued a public statement regarding the case of Professor Wang, condemning his termination by IU and raising serious concerns about the erosion of due process, threats to academic freedom, and the ongoing pattern of racial profiling targeting Chinese American scientists. FAPA also sent an open letter to IU President Pamela Whitten.
On April 1, 2025, Stanford University cybersecurity scholar Riana Pfefferkorn filed a motion Tuesday to unseal the warrants used to execute searches of IU professor Xiaofeng Wang and Nianli Ma’s homes last week. She filed the motion in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
On April 17, 2025, John E. Childress, the acting U.S. attorney of the Southern District of Indiana argued the search warrants used in the FBI searches of Xiaofeng Wang and Nianli Ma’s homes March 28 should remain sealed in response to the motion to release the warrants.
On April 14, 2024, the Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) hosted a State of Play Town Hall, in which Nianli Ma, wife of Professor Xiaoxeng Wang spoke about her family situation.
AASF and a coalition of organizations and individuals wrote a letter to Rahul Shrivastav, Provost of Indiana University (IU) and requested reinstament of Professor Wang.
On April 14, 2025, a GoFundMe campaign for Professor Wang was started by his son, Luke Wang, at https://bit.ly/3E70Vfm.
Professor Wang termination reportedly involved an undisclosed research grant from China in 2017-2018.
On April 17, 2025, Day of Action for Higher Ed, IU computer science chair Yuzhen Ye said Professor Wang was not even aware of the grant when university officials asked him about it.
“So apparently a researcher in China applied for this grant without his knowledge," she said "So (Wang) explained and also he provided a supporting documentation to IU. I truly believe this really could have unfolded in a very different way if IU administration had chosen to trust its own faculty or give them a fair chance to respond,” Professor Ye said.
References and Links
Southern District of Indiana: In Re: Motion to Uunseal Search Warrants (1:25-mc-00022)
2025/04/18 Herald-Times: Wife, son of cybersecurity professor Xiaofeng Wang make first comments since FBI raid
2025/04/17 Indiana Daily Student: U.S. attorney argues to keep search warrants for Xiaofeng Wang’s home searches sealed
2025/04/17 Indiana Public Media: IU department chair says Wang didn't know about undisclosed Chinese research grant
2025/04/17 Indian Public Media: Protest groups at IU unite for National Day of Action on higher education
2025/04/16 Guardian: The mysterious firing of a Chinese professor has Asian students on edge: ‘Brings chills to our spines’
2025/04/15 South China Morning Post: ‘It hurts deeply’: Nianli Ma, wife of cyber expert Xiaofeng Wang, speaks up over FBI raids
2025/04/14 WIRED: A Cybersecurity Professor Disappeared Amid an FBI Search. His Family Is ‘Determined to Fight’
2025/04/12 FAPA: Open Letter to Pamela Whitten, President, Indiana University
2025/04/12 FAPA: Public Statement on the Case of Dr. Xiaofeng Wang
2025/04/02 Indiana Daily Student: Stanford scholar files motion to unseal warrants used to search homes of Xiaofeng Wang
2025/03/31 AAUP IU Bloomington Chapter: Open Letter to Rahul Shrivastav, Provost, Indiana University