Alberto Giaretta

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Alberto Giaretta is a leading researcher in the security of cyber-physical systems, with a primary focus on the vulnerabilities of humanoid and social robots. His work critically addresses the often-overlooked security risks in the rapidly advancing fields of connectivity, digitalization, and artificial intelligence. Giaretta’s major contribution is his pioneering security assessment of the Pepper humanoid robot, most notably detailed in his highly cited 2018 paper, “Adding Salt to Pepper” (31 citations). In this work, he systematically demonstrated how a hacked robot can become an insider threat within an organization, exposing critical flaws in widely deployed robotic platforms. His follow-up paper, “Adding Salt to Pepper: A Structured Security Assessment over a Humanoid Robot” (6 citations), further formalized this methodology. By proving that social robots are not just tools but potential attack vectors, Giaretta has fundamentally shaped the conversation around robotic security. His research serves as a crucial warning for developers and organizations, urging them to integrate security into the very fabric of robotic design before these machines become ubiquitous in our homes and workplaces.