FBI Raids Home of Famed Cryptography Professor Who Has Mysteriously Disappeared

Indiana University scrubbed his existence. The FBI won’t say why. Nobody can reach him. What is going on with Xiaofeng Wang?

In a case that’s raising serious eyebrows in both academic and cybersecurity circles, one of the nation’s top cryptography experts, Professor Xiaofeng Wang of Indiana University, has seemingly vanished—his university affiliations erased, his communications cut off, and his homes raided by the FBI. And nobody’s talking.

Wang, a tenured professor at Indiana University's Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, is no lightweight. He’s published dozens of peer-reviewed papers in cryptography, cybersecurity, and privacy—everything from system security to human genomic data protection. He served as associate dean for research, brought in nearly $23 million in grants, and held fellowships with both the IEEE and the AAAS. In short, he’s a big deal in the world of privacy and security.

Now he’s just... gone.

In recent weeks, Indiana University quietly removed Wang’s faculty profile, email address, and phone number without any public explanation. Even more oddly, the university also erased the profile of his wife, Nianli Ma, who had been listed as a Lead Systems Analyst and Programmer. No public statement. No notice. Just digital erasure.

But things took a much darker turn on Friday.

According to reports from The Bloomingtonian, Herald-Times, and WTHR, FBI agents in unmarked vehicles descended on two homes owned by Wang and Ma—one in Bloomington, the other in Carmel, Indiana. Neighbors say agents used a megaphone to command, “FBI, come out!” before proceeding to search the premises, haul out boxes of materials, and take photos.

In one instance, a woman emerged from the house holding a phone, which an agent took from her before questioning her in the driveway. Later, she returned with a lawyer. Agents were seen accessing the attic and eventually departed after four hours, carrying several boxes.

And here’s the thing: No one knows what the hell is going on.

“None of this is in any way normal,” wrote Matthew Green, cryptography professor at Johns Hopkins, on Mastodon. “Has anyone been in contact? I hear he’s been missing for two weeks and his students can’t reach him. How does this not get noticed for two weeks???”

Matt Blaze, a professor at Georgetown University, chimed in: “It’s hard to imagine what reason there could be for the university to scrub its website as if he never worked there.”

As of now, federal court dockets show no filings related to Wang or Ma. The FBI has confirmed that “court-authorized law enforcement activity” took place at the two homes but refused to elaborate. DOJ isn’t talking either. Attempts to reach the couple have failed, and Indiana University is stonewalling inquiries.

Are they under investigation? Were they detained? Are they even in the country anymore? Nobody’s saying. Even their citizenship or residency status is unknown.

Wang has worked on sensitive data privacy issues, including genomic data—raising inevitable questions about whether his disappearance might be connected to national security or international collaboration gone awry. But with no charges, no warrant disclosures, and a digital wipeout from his employer, this situation is as opaque as it is chilling.

If it turns out this is some kind of national security matter, then so be it—but in the absence of facts, this cloak-and-dagger silence is only fueling speculation and concern across the academic and tech communities.

This story is developing. If you have direct knowledge of what’s going on, contact Dan Goodin via Signal at DanArs.82 or email him at [email protected].

Source: Ars Technica