We welcome Hanna Algedri as new member of the SECUSO team! Hanna completed her Bachelor’s degree in Media and Communication Informatics and her Master’s degree in Cognitive Science with a focus on Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence. In her Master’s thesis, Hanna explored knowledge transfer through game-based learning in virtual reality. Over the past two years, she has worked as a software engineer, focusing on issues such as how to effectively convey specialist knowledge, for example in the field of secure software development. She is part of the SECUSO team since February 1, 2026 and responsible for AI/ML Security Awareness.

Many marketing CRMs replace newsletter links into redirect/tracking URLs to measure users' clicking behavior. Microsoft Dynamics 365 (Customer Insights – Journeys / Outbound Marketing) documents this approach via redirect URLs / link tracking: a click is recorded and the user is then forwarded to the target domain.
From a usable security perspective, this can be harmful because recipients often cannot read the registered target domain before clicking - undermining the “check the domain” anti-phishing principle. In response, organizations are increasingly adjusting their system to enable pre-click verifiability (direct links or first-party link domains). In a recent case, the provider switched from Microsoft Dynamics to a self-hosted open-source CRM (CiviCRM) which avoids the problem of third-party redirect domains, making the target domain visible for the recipients.

The call for papers for this year’s E-Vote-ID is published. Submissions can be made to five different tracks. Submission deadline for the tracks “Security, Usability and Technical Issues” (Track 1) and “Governance Issues” (Track 2) is May, 15, 2026. Submission deadline for the PhD Colloquium (Track 5) and the track “Election and Practical Experiences” (Track 3) is July, 10, 2026. Poster and demos (Track 4) can be submitted until September 15, 2026. One of E-Vote-ID's major objectives is to provide a forum for interdisciplinary and open discussion of all issues related to electronic voting (including, but not limited to, polling stations, kiosks, ballot scanners, and Internet voting). Melanie Volkamer supports the conference as General Chair together with David Duenas-Cid, Kozminski University Polen, and Peter Rønne, Universität Luxemburg. The conference will take place from October 6 - 9, 2026 in Tallinn, Estonia.

Tomorrow, February 10, is Safer Internet Day! Since 2004, this day has been used once a year to raise awareness about internet security. We are taking this day, as well as the following weeks, as an opportunity to introduce you to our NoPhish card game. It teaches you how to better recognize phishing in a fun way. As part of a study in our lab, we want to test with you how well it works. You can register via the online portal “Wir forschen digital”, and participants will receive €20. We look forward to receiving lots of registrations!