“Cybernation” is a podcast from “Lage der Nation” in which Dr. Alexandra Paulus, Johannes Steger, and Dr. Sven Herpig discuss cybersecurity topics. In the episode from July 28, 2026, the hosts answer questions about cybersecurity, including topics such as data theft, the security of WhatsApp as a messenger service, and how non-experts can assess the privacy friendliness of apps. In this context, the SECUSO research group’s “Privacy Friendly Apps” (PFAs) are recommended, as they do not contain any kind of advertisement or tracking mechanisms, and can be used as privacy-friendly alternatives to more well-known apps.

Benjamin Berens, Peter Mayer, and Melanie Volkamer will (again) support the upcoming Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2027) as Associate Chairs (AC) for the 'Privacy & Security' subcommittee. Associate Chairs match papers and reviewers with the intent that experts review each paper. Submission deadline for full paper will be on September 10, 2026. Until January 21, 2027, poster in the form of extended abstract can be submitted. CHI 2027 will take place from May 10 to 14, 2027 in Pittsburgh, USA.

The German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst - DAAD) conducted an interview with Prof. Dr. Melanie Volkamer on the topic of phishing. Despite numerous awareness measures, it is not surprising that phishing remains a major problem. The reasons for this are that many measures offer only general advice, and common red flags, such as poor grammar or spelling, are becoming less reliable. It is therefore essential to always check web addresses before clicking on them. Tools like Torpedo can help with this. Implementing technical measures such as DMARC is also recommended to protect users from spoofing, for example.

The program for the 41st Symposium of the Verein Angewandte Informatik (AIK) on November 6, 2026 is now online. In addition to two short presentations by Dr. Benjamin Berens (SECUSO) and Dr. Julia Seitz Sänger (h-lab) featuring input from their respective research groups, there will be five further presentations by Prof. Dr. Petra Nieken (IBU, KIT), Prof. Dr. Albrecht Schmidt (LMU Munich), Prof. Dr. Barbara Bruno (IAR, KIT), Dr. Michaela Kauer-Franz (CEO of Custom Medical), and Prof. Dr. Steffen Staab (University of Stuttgart). This year’s symposium is organized by the SECUSO research group and the “human-centered systems lab (h-lab)” research group. The title of the symposium is “Menschenzentrierte Informatikforschung" (Human-Centered Computer Science Research). Registration is now open via the website.