An American computer scientist has mysteriously disappeared, and although there are reports of an FBI investigation, even his students have been unable to contact him and his whereabouts are unknown.
XiaoFeng Wang, a computer science and cryptography student at Indiana University, has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. On Friday, March 28, 2025, it was reported that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted a search of his home, and XiaoFeng's profile was removed from the university's website.
FBI department homeland security agents search house in Bloomington
Sketchy First Reports - TPM – Talking Points Memo
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/sketchy-first-reports
More Details on Situation at Indiana University - TPM – Talking Points Memo
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/more-details-on-situation-at-indiana-university
FBI raids home of prominent computer scientist who has gone incommunicado - Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/03/computer-scientist-goes-silent-after-fbi-raid-and-purging-from-university-website/
Xiaofeng has been researching computer science and cryptography at Indiana University for over 20 years. According to his profile page on the paper search service Google Scholar, he has participated in the writing of numerous security-related papers.
However, at the time of writing, even if you access Xiao Feng's profile page at Indiana University, you will see the message 'Page not found.'
The Wayback Machine has an archive as of September 30, 2024 .
At the time of writing, the following page from Indiana University still contained an introduction to Xiao Feng, stating that 'Xiaofeng is one of the most prominent researchers in system security and privacy,' and that 'since joining Indiana University in 2004, Xiao Feng has served as principal investigator on research projects totaling $23 million (approximately 3.5 billion yen).'
Xiaofeng Wang: IU Alliance: Indiana University
https://alliance.iu.edu/members/member/8580.html
According to the Indiana daily newspaper 'Herald-Times,' the FBI and DHS were investigating Xiao Feng's home on Friday, March 28, 2025. At that time, 12 FBI and DHS vehicles were surrounding Xiao Feng's home. The Herald-Times asked the FBI and DHS for details of the investigation, but the DHS replied, 'You can get information from the FBI,' and the FBI only replied, 'We conducted law enforcement activities with the permission of the court.'
In addition, the independent news site 'Talking Points Memo (TPM)' reports that 'Xiaofeng's colleagues were informed that he had been placed on administrative leave on Friday, March 14, 2025.' Xiaofeng's profile disappeared from the university's website before the FBI and DHS investigated his home, and at the same time, Xiaofeng's university email address was also suspended. However, Xiaofeng's colleagues have not been informed of the reason for the response by the university, and it is unclear what charges Xiaofeng is being investigated for. In addition, TPM writes that 'it is unclear whether Xiaofeng has been arrested or is on the run,' and 'it is unclear whether Xiaofeng is an American citizen or holds Chinese nationality.'
'I was told that Xiao Feng had been missing for two weeks and that students had not been able to contact him,' said Matthew Green, a professor of cryptography at Johns Hopkins University.
Matt Blaze, a professor of cryptography at Georgetown University, said, 'It's hard to imagine why the university would remove his profile page and make it look like he's never even worked at the university.'
