Aleksandar Milenkoski is a cybersecurity researcher with expertise in malware research and focus on targeted attacks, bringing a blend of practical and deep insights to the forefront of cyber threat intelligence. He is the author of numerous reports on cyberespionage and high-impact cybercriminal operations, conference talks, and peer-reviewed research papers.
Some of Aleksandar's contributions include uncovering the Sandman cyberespionage group, likely associated with suspected China-based groups, and Operation Tainted Love, attacks highly likely conducted by a Chinese cyberespionage actor related to Operation Soft Cell. Additionally, he made significant contributions to SentinelLabs' research on Metador, a never-before-seen advanced threat actor targeting entities in the Middle East and Africa.
His research has been covered in leading media outlets, including The Washington Post, WIRED, Politico, The Record, and many other news platforms focusing on cybersecurity.
Aleksandar has actively collaborated with experts from the private and government sector, including Microsoft, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Recorded Future, VirusTotal, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), and the Netherlands Police.
Aleksandar earned a PhD degree in cybersecurity in 2016 based on his research conducted at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and University of Würzburg (Germany). From 2011 to 2014, he was a European Commission Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow.
His academic research has been recognized with a research grant from the German Research Foundation (DFG), as well as awards from the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (USA), the Bavarian Foundation for Science, and the University of Würzburg.
Some of Aleksandar's contributions include uncovering the Sandman cyberespionage group, likely associated with suspected China-based groups, and Operation Tainted Love, attacks highly likely conducted by a Chinese cyberespionage actor related to Operation Soft Cell. Additionally, he made significant contributions to SentinelLabs' research on Metador, a never-before-seen advanced threat actor targeting entities in the Middle East and Africa.
His research has been covered in leading media outlets, including The Washington Post, WIRED, Politico, The Record, and many other news platforms focusing on cybersecurity.
Aleksandar has actively collaborated with experts from the private and government sector, including Microsoft, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Recorded Future, VirusTotal, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), and the Netherlands Police.
Aleksandar earned a PhD degree in cybersecurity in 2016 based on his research conducted at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and University of Würzburg (Germany). From 2011 to 2014, he was a European Commission Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow.
His academic research has been recognized with a research grant from the German Research Foundation (DFG), as well as awards from the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (USA), the Bavarian Foundation for Science, and the University of Würzburg.
