PUF the Magic DRAmGON: Persistent Storage in Volatile Memory using Rowhammer PUF
ESORICS 2026 · Rome, Italy · September 2026
Dr. Martin Heckel
Systems Security Researcher
Researcher at Hof University of Applied Sciences
My work focuses on the security of low-level computing systems, with a particular focus on Rowhammer, memory systems, and hardware/software security boundaries.
I combine experimental security research with practical experience in systems security, penetration testing, and low-level software development.
Memory Systems
Systems Security
Systems Programming
Offensive Security
Profile
Areas of Expertise
Memory Systems
Rowhammer, DRAM, memory management, DRAM addressing, and experimental analysis of real systems.
Systems Security
Low-level security, hardware/software interactions, memory isolation, and system security.
Systems Programming
C/C++, Go, Python, Linux internals, kernel modules, and low-level software.
Offensive Security
Penetration testing, Linux and Windows security, web security, and code review.
Research
Rowhammer
DRAM Security
Memory Systems
Hardware Security
Systems Security
Engineering
C/C++
Go
Bourne Shell
Python
Java
Lua
PHP
Linux Kernel
Research
Publications
My research focuses primarily on Rowhammer and the security properties of modern memory systems. I publish experimental results together with the software needed to reproduce my work where applicable.
2026
Client-Side Mitigation of Remote Latency Side-Channel Attacks
DIMVA 2026 · Chania, Greece · July 2026
FlippyRAM: A Large-Scale Study of Rowhammer Prevalence
NDSS 2026 · San Diego, CA, USA · February 2026
Memory Band-Aid: A Principled Rowhammer Defense-in-Depth
NDSS 2026 · San Diego, CA, USA · February 2026
2025
Epistemology of Rowhammer Attacks: Threats to Rowhammer Research Validity
ESORICS 2025 · Toulouse, France · September 2025
Verifying DRAM Addressing in Software
ESORICS 2025 · Toulouse, France · September 2025
Flipper: Rowhammer on Steroids
uASC 2025 · Bochum, Germany · February 2025
2024
Presshammer: Rowhammer and Rowpress without Physical Address Information
DIMVA 2024 · Lausanne, Switzerland · July 2024
2023
Reverse-Engineering Bank Addressing Functions on AMD CPUs
DRAMSec 2023 · Virtual · June 2023
Background
Education
2026
PhD / Dr. techn. in Computer Science
Thesis
Real-World Rowhammer: Understanding and Addressing the Challenges to Rowhammer Attacks
2022
M.Sc. in Computer Science
Hof University of Applied Sciences
Thesis
We don't need no Exploitation — Systematic Investigation of Process-based Rowhammer Exploitation
2021
B.Sc. in Computer Science
Hof University of Applied Sciences
Thesis
RAEAX — Rowhammer Amplification by Execution of Additional X86 Instructions
2019
Computer Science Expert — System Integration
Staatliche Berufsschule I Bayreuth
Thesis
Rechteverwaltung in Git innerhalb eines Repository
Archive
Theses
This section contains selected academic work.
2026
2022
2021
2021
Other academic documents and presentations
2021
Novel Rowhammer Attacks
2020
2019
Contact
Get in Touch
If you are interested in my research, or would like to discuss a technical topic, feel free to get in touch. A detailed CV is available upon request.