$ man karolina
About
Research & Academic Profile
I am a software security researcher at Ledger Donjon. I completed my Ph.D. in cybersecurity (2023–2026) at Télécom Paris, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, in collaboration with Ledger Donjon. My doctoral research investigated the security properties of binaries compiled from programs written in the Go programming language. Specifically, it applies concolic (combined concrete and symbolic) execution techniques to identify bugs and vulnerabilities in production-ready binaries. I conducted this research under the supervision of Prof. Rida Khatoun (Télécom Paris), Dr. Yannick Seurin, and Nicolas Iooss (Ledger Donjon), bridging academic research and industrial security practice. Further details are available on thèse.fr.
Prior to my doctoral studies, I completed intensive preparatory classes (Classes Préparatoires aux Grandes Écoles) in Mathematics, Physics, and Mechanics before entering Télécom SudParis, a leading French engineering institution and member of both Institut Polytechnique de Paris and the Institut Mines-Télécom network. I graduated with a Master of Science and Engineering Degree (Diplôme d'Ingénieur), specializing in Cybersecurity with coursework spanning telecommunications, computer science, networks, and electronics.
In September 2022, I earned the ESSI certification (Expert en Sécurité des Systèmes d'Information) from ANSSI, the French National Cybersecurity Agency, demonstrating advanced expertise in information systems security.
My academic trajectory reflects a sustained commitment to understanding the formal foundations of secure systems while maintaining strong connections to practical implementation challenges in decentralized technologies.
Experience
Ledger
July 2026 --> now
Software Security Researcher
June 2023 – June 2026
Ph.D. Candidate in Software Security
Detection of vulnerabilities in Go binaries using concolic execution, supervised by Yannick Seurin and Nicolas Iooss at Ledger Donjon and by Prof. Rida Khatoun at Télécom Paris, with support from several technical universities in Europe. Thesis: "Automated Vulnerability Detection in Go: Concolic Execution for Multi-Threaded Binaries."
October 2022 – May 2023
Software Security Engineer
Research on the security of layers 1 and 2 of public blockchains: configuration and attack surface of blockchain software clients ("nodes"), software fault injection techniques, and smart contract security (static analysis, fuzzing).
KRYPTOSPHERE®
KRYPTOSPHERE® is the first student society in Europe specialized in new technologies, with more than 600 students in 14 engineering and business schools and universities in France.
February 2022 --> now
Alumni
January 2021 – January 2022
President of KRYPTOSPHERE France
December 2019 – January 2021
President of KRYPTOSPHERE Antenna TSP/IMTBS
September 2019 – December 2019
Partnerships Manager
April 2023 – January 2026
Cybersecurity Working Group Contributor
Collaborative pentests and design of security evaluation proposals (CSPN) for blockchain components.
July 2023 – December 2023
Part-time Lecturer
In charge of the French-speaking "Blockchain" course (BC-FRA) of the MIT Professional Education program, in collaboration with Global Alumni, with content prepared with Dr. Abel Sanchez and Prof. John R. Williams. Two-month sessions of 8 modules with intermediate tests and a final exam, for groups of 15 to 20 participants.
November 2022 – February 2023
Part-time Lecturer
AFORP – Pôle Formation UIMM Île-de-France
Dedicated courses for M1 engineering students.
February 2022 – July 2022
Cybersecurity Engineer
R&D on cybersecurity issues linked to blockchains at Blockchain Partner by KPMG, and co-author of the "Cybersecurity for Blockchains and Cryptos 2022" study.
January 2021 – January 2022
Technical Research Volunteer – Climate Action and Accountability
Implementation of a sustainability score computed from the inputs of a blockchain-based supply chain. Collaborative research carried out within the Hyperledger Climate SIG and presented at the Hyperledger Global Forum 2021.
August 2020 – January 2022
Project Lead
NASA Space Apps Challenge Paris
In charge of the Paris location of the biggest international hackathon, with more than 18,000 participants in 75 countries, in partnership with NASA.
