Since November 1, citizens from Karlsruhe and the surrounding area can register for ‘Wir forschen digital’! Experience current research and digital technologies up close: that’s what ‘Wir forschen digital’ is all about. The panel offers the opportunity to participate in scientific studies on digital technologies and earn money in the process. So far, more than 80 citizens have already registered on the ‘Wir forschen digital’ online portal. Four different studies on a wide range of topics are currently underway – from phishing, vote counting in local elections, and experiences in software development to password managers in virtual reality. On Friday, February 6, ‘Wir forschen digital’ will participate in the Science Slam at the Tollhaus with an interactive information stand. Feel free to stop by, we look forward to talking to you!

On Thursday 5th February 2026 (11:00-12:00), we will be joined by Prof. Dr. Florian Meißner who will talk about “Evaluating risk communication about cybersecurity. Results from media content analyses and two experimental surveys with high-vulnerability age groups”. Prof Meißner is based in Hochschule Darmstadt and his expertise spans diverse areas such as risk communication, crisis communication, journalism, qualitative analysis, and quantitative analysis. He is also the Action Chair of the Alert Hub, which is a network for sharing knowledge among experts whose field of interest is in warning and disaster communication. Guests are very welcome, participation is possible on site or online.

Melanie Volkamer and Peter Mayer are supporting the program committee of the Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS 2026) this year. As of January 2026, SOUPS has improved its ranking and is now rated as "A" conference. SOUPS will take place from August 23 to 26, 2026 in Hannover, Germany. Papers must be registered for submission by February 12, submission is open until February 19.

The paper "From Matrix to Metrics: Introducing and Applying a Configuration Matrix to Evaluate DMARC Policies" by Tobias Länge, Fabian Ballreich, Anne Hennig, Peter Mayer, and Melanie Volkamer was accepted for presentation at the Workshop Measurements, Attacks, and Defenses for the Web (MADWeb) 2026. In the paper, an utility-oriented configuration matrix was developed that focuses on the anti-spoofing effectiveness of different DMARC configurations and provides clear recommendations for selecting the appropriate configuration. An analyses of the data from the Tranco Top-100k domains reveals over a period of eight month showed that domains move towards configurations that are more effective against email spoofing, however, still exhibiting a lack of knowledge with respect to different policy settings. MadWeb 2026 will take place as co-located event with NDSS on February 27, 2026 in San Diego, USA.