Hagen Echzell

Programming Languages and Technologies

Rust (learning), Python, SQL, HTML/CSS/JavaScript, Database Systems, Spark, Qiskit, Git, LaTeX, Linux, Ansible

Research Interests

Cryptography, MLS, Computational Complexity, Algorithmic Game Theory

Spoken Languages

🇩🇪 (native) • 🇬🇧 (fluent/C1) • 🇳🇴 (fluent/Trinn 3) • 🇫🇷 (basic)

Master Sc., "Information Security" - Cryptography Track

University of Oslo • 2023 — today

In my thesis due 2026, I'm writing about secure, decentralized communication based on Matrix.org and MLS. There is a separate site about my progress!

USIT, University of Oslo

Senior engineer • 2023 — today

I'm part of the Linux team and the educloud.no project at the University of Oslo. Besides general Ansible automation of general admin tasks, I'm responsible for running UiO's Nextcloud, as well as our Matrix service.

Knowit Secure AS, Oslo

Cybersecurity and Law Consultant • 2023

Redpill Linpro Analytics AS, Oslo

Data Science & Security Consultant • 2022 — 2023

I set up an Apache Spark based data analytics cluster with a Jupyter Notebook interface that allows a cost-effective and independent replacement for many Databricks use-cases. I studied Pandas and further improved my Python and SQL skills. Additionally, I planned a course in IT security basics for enterprises and held internal talks about the GDPR, the Schrems II verdict, as well as other data protection related topics.

Independent Security/Data Analytics Research

Researcher • 2022

I analyzed a paper using supposedly anonymized Norwegian COVID-19 contact tracing data. I challenge the claim that the dataset is anonymous by explaining how different external sets of personal data can be matched with the dataset, which potentially leads to a re-identification of persons and a disclosure of their private contacts. My paper resulting from this project was published at the Norwegian Information Security Conference, made it to the front page of NRK.no and was discussed in international media.

Simula Research Laboratory

PhD Student • 2021 — 2022

Quantum Computing promises to efficiently solve a subset of problems from NP that are likely not efficiently solvable with Classical Computers. However, Quantum Computers come with a couple of unexpected properties, like the inability to copy a bit, non-determinism and value alterations when reading bits. Since these peculiarities prohibit many traditional methods of Software Testing, we research on how to make Quantum Software reliably testable and propose modular, less error-prone programming patterns.

University of Oslo, Department of Mathematics

Teaching Assistant — Quantum Computing • 2022

As part of my PhD studies in Quantum Computing, I initiated this teaching cooperation between Simula and UiO. As a Teaching Assistant in spring semester 2022, I arranged supplementary exercise sessions and lectures. Topics included advanced topics in Computational Complexity, Cryptography, as well as a series of practical sessions where the students simulated fundamental Quantum experiments in Qiskit.

Hasso Plattner Institute

Algorithmic Game Theory Researcher • 2019 — 2021

Network Creation Games model a decentralized way of network creation and development, in which independent economic agents create and shape global networks without a centralized coordination authority. While the typical motivation for this type of model is to analyze how the lack of coordination between Internet providers affects the efficiency of the global Internet, this project is a first step to apply the same Game-Theoretic methods to other types of networks, like Electrical Grids, Utility and Traffic networks. The project resulted in my Master’s Thesis and a paper published at IJCAI’20.

SAP Innovation Center Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, CA

Fullstack Developer • 2016 — 2017

Further development of SAP’s “Conversational AI” platform. I acquired well advanced Python skills, developed a microservice architecture based on Django REST and gained Data Science and NLP insights. Our team won a 4-week hackathon with a working chatbot against numerous teams from well-known Enterprise Software companies. In spring 2017, I had the chance to attend the “Fundamentals of Machine Learning” course at Stanford University.

Colgate-Palmolive & SAP, Potsdam

Fullstack Developer • 2014 — 2015

In this year-long industry project, five fellow students and I developed and implemented route planning algorithms to minimize driving times of salespeople at Colgate-Palmolive. We picked a Simulated Annealing approach to find heuristic solutions to the Vehicle Routing Problem at hand. We further optimized their work flow and productivity by preparing and visualizing large amounts of POS data.

Scalable Minds UG, Potsdam

Frontend Developer • 2012 — 2013

Development and design of Wordpress Templates using PHP, HTML5/CSS3 and JavaScript. Development of custom features in collaboration with the customer.

Bock Bücher UG

Technical Lead • 2018 — 2022

The project aimed to develop and maintain a new CI platform that supports typesetting teams in a German publishing house to work collaboratively. We chose a Github Action based systems that builds and tests all new contributions and avoids conflicts when collaboratively editing complex LaTeX documents and sheet music. The tests were specifically written to ensure and enforce quality standards of the publisher, including reproducible builds, PDF-specific publishing features and layout consistency. I was the technical lead and responsible for conception, implementation, maintenance and training of non-technical users.

University of Oslo / Simula Research Laboratory

PhD Studies • 2021 — 2022

I have begun PhD studies with the project title “Designing Testable and Verifiable Quantum Software”

Hasso Plattner Institute, Potsdam

Master Sc., "IT-Systems Engineering" • 2017 — 2021

With distinction

Master's Thesis “Flow-Based Network Creation Games”

Hasso Plattner Institute, Potsdam

Bachelor Sc., "IT-Systems Engineering" • 2012 — 2015

Bachelor's Thesis “Spatial Data Processing in Databases”

Interoperable Infrastructure for Universities, Enterprises and the Public Sector

FOSS North • 2025

Attack vectors to re-identify individuals from the anonymised Smittestopp dataset

Norwegian Information Security Conference (NISK) • 2022

Flow-Based Network Creation Games

International Joint Conferences on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI) • 2020

Convergence and Hardness of Strategic Schelling Segregation

Conference on Web and Internet Economics (WINE) • 2019

Admission to the 12th Heidelberg Laureate Forum

Heidelberg Laureate Forum • 2025

Admission to the 9th Heidelberg Laureate Forum

Heidelberg Laureate Forum • 2022

Each year, the recipients of the most prestigious awards in mathematics and computer science, the Abel Prize, Turing Award and Fields Medal, meet 100 of the most exceptional young computer scientists of their generations from all over the world. Participants spend a week interacting and networking to encourage scientific exchange. During the forum, I had the possibility to attend talks by Whitfield Diffie, Avi Wigderson and Vint Cerf, as well as to personally meet Robert Tarjan, Richard Karp and Adi Shamir, some of the most distinguished researchers in modern public-key cryptography and computational complexity.

Poster award — "Privacy Engineering"

Hasso Plattner Institute • 2018

In the context of the “Data Engineering in Practice” course presentation, I received a poster award for my presentation of “Privacy Engineering – technical aspects of Data Protection”.