Architect, IT Security Office
Alex Merck is an Information Security Architect in the Office of Information Technology at Duke University, where he focuses on advancing cybersecurity strategy, threat detection & defensive engineering. He served as a lead engineer on the STINGAR (Shared Threat Intelligence for Network Gatekeeping and Automated Response) project, a platform designed to improve threat intelligence sharing and automated response capabilities across higher education and enterprise environments.
Merck’s technical interests include the development of innovative monitoring systems such as distributed honeypots used to study attacker behavior in real-world environments.
In addition to his engineering work, he contributes to the broader Duke community through teaching and outreach, including guest lectures and cybersecurity awareness initiatives. His work emphasizes practical, hands-on approaches to modern security challenges, particularly in areas such as supply chain risk and emerging threats driven by advances in artificial intelligence.