News
Discussion Notes on CMSWritten on 12.06.25 by Alexander Ponticello Dear students, I finally got around to put the discussion notes on CMS, you can find them in the materials section, and they can assist you with your group projects. Tomorrow we will meet at the usual location (CISPA main building) at the usual time (1pm ct), see you all there!
Best, Alexander |
Update: Seminar on 18th of July 2025Written on 06.06.25 by Carolyn Guthoff Dear all, unfortunately, the survey results for moving the seminar on July 18th did not offer another date where at least two groups could be present in full. Thus, the date of the seminar will not be changed and will happen at the set time on July 18th. Best, |
Seminar on 18th of July 2025Written on 26.05.25 by Carolyn Guthoff Dear all, for the seminar on July 18th, 2025, it has come to our attention that some of you will attend the cryptography exam on the same day between 4pm and 6pm. To judge whether and how we could reschedule the seminar, please fill in the following survey until tomorrow (Tuesday 27 May 2025… Read more Dear all, for the seminar on July 18th, 2025, it has come to our attention that some of you will attend the cryptography exam on the same day between 4pm and 6pm. To judge whether and how we could reschedule the seminar, please fill in the following survey until tomorrow (Tuesday 27 May 2025 EOB). https://cispa.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2bDJUYU5BTHK8hE Thank you! |
Seminar on July 4th is moved to 12pm-1:30pmWritten on 26.05.25 by Carolyn Guthoff Dear all, unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, we have to shift one of the upcoming seminar meetings. July 4th 2025 1:15pm-2:45pm → July 4th 2025 12:00pm(sharp)-1:30pm Best, |
More recent newsWritten on 21.05.25 by Alexander Ponticello Hi everyone, there's more things happening in the world right now that are very relevant to the topics we discuss in our seminar, I'm curious what you folks think about the topics of Real-Time Bidding and the Transparency & Consent Framework it during the next discussion on the topic. Once… Read more Hi everyone, there's more things happening in the world right now that are very relevant to the topics we discuss in our seminar, I'm curious what you folks think about the topics of Real-Time Bidding and the Transparency & Consent Framework it during the next discussion on the topic. Once again, big thanks to Sara for letting me know about it!
https://www.iccl.ie/digital-data/eu-ruling-tracking-based-advertising-by-google-microsoft-amazon-x-across-europe-has-no-legal-basis/
See you on Friday, Alexander |
Relevant recent news articleWritten on 13.05.25 by Alexander Ponticello Dear students, I would like to forward you a recent news article which is very relevant to the contents of our latest session. Perhaps we can include it into our discussion when the topic of nation state actors comes back around ;) Thanks a lot to your colleague Sara for pointing it out to… Read more Dear students, I would like to forward you a recent news article which is very relevant to the contents of our latest session. Perhaps we can include it into our discussion when the topic of nation state actors comes back around ;) Thanks a lot to your colleague Sara for pointing it out to me! https://posteo.de/en/news/nso-must-pay-167-million-in-damages-for-spyware-attacks See you all on Friday! Best, Alexander |
Important: Room Change for Friday, May 9thWritten on 06.05.25 by Alexander Ponticello Dear students, due to force majeure, we need to change the room for this week's seminar session (Friday, May 9th). The time will be the usual one, starting at 1pm c.t. If you are presenting during that slot, please make sure to be there a few minutes early, such that you can try the setup with your… Read more Dear students, due to force majeure, we need to change the room for this week's seminar session (Friday, May 9th). The time will be the usual one, starting at 1pm c.t. If you are presenting during that slot, please make sure to be there a few minutes early, such that you can try the setup with your laptop. The new room is E1.7, Room 0.08. See you there, best, Alexander |
Paper Assignment and Presentation SlotsWritten on 28.04.25 by Alexander Ponticello Dear Students, Thank you all for the amazingly smooth kick-off session last! I could see your all motivation and eagerness to dive into deep discussions of this topic. I uploaded your paper assignments to the materials section on CMS. You can also check your assigned slot on the schedule… Read more Dear Students, Thank you all for the amazingly smooth kick-off session last! I could see your all motivation and eagerness to dive into deep discussions of this topic. I uploaded your paper assignments to the materials section on CMS. You can also check your assigned slot on the schedule overview. With the paper assignment, you can furthermore determine your group members for the final group project, i.e., the students with papers in the same main topic. Please make sure to get in touch with them early, best during the next seminar session. See you all next week, best, Alexander |
Preparation for Kick-OffWritten on 18.04.25 (last change on 18.04.25) by Carolyn Guthoff Dear all, welcome to our seminar on "Politics of Security and Privacy". Our Kick-Off is on 25. April 2025 at 1pm c.t. at CISPA C0, room 0.02 (in person only). Additionally, please read all… Read more Dear all, welcome to our seminar on "Politics of Security and Privacy". Our Kick-Off is on 25. April 2025 at 1pm c.t. at CISPA C0, room 0.02 (in person only). Additionally, please read all abstracts of the papers mentioned under 'Papers' below (they are available in the materials section) and mark down for yourselves, which papers you'd be particular interested in presenting. The assignment to topics and papers will happen in the kick-off session. Let us know if you have any questions. We are looking forward to the seminar :) Best, |
Content
In this seminar, we will discuss political aspects of security and privacy technology and research. We will discuss both historical and ongoing areas of tension. Some topics are censorship, surveillance, information leakage and other security and privacy challenges that harm individuals, at-risk users and nations.
Time & Location
The seminar kick-off will be on the 25 April 2025.
The following in-person meetings will be on Fridays at 1pm c.t. as indicated in the table below.
Location: Building E9 1, CISPA C0, Stuhlsatzenhaus 5, 66123 Saarbrücken.
Course modalities
This course will discuss a corpus of research papers centered around four main topics: (1) Activism and censorship, (2) Harms to marginalized populations, (3) External security of nation state actors, and (4) Surveillance capitalism.
As a general introduction, we will start the seminar with a short presentation and discussion on Rogaway's The Moral Character of Cryptographic Work.
Afterward, each seminar participant will present one paper of their choice and lead the discussion on the topic (10 min presentation, 5 min Q&A, 30 min discussion). All other participants will need to read the papers prior to the presentation of each paper.
Additionally, groups of 3-4 students will create presentation slides to present their overall main topic and create accompanying lecture notes and assignments (including a grading scheme). The overall goal is to kickstart the creation of a lecture unit for the Security Core lecture on the topic of Politics of Cybersecurity.
Grading
50% paper presentation + discussion
40% group presentation + presentation slides + lecture notes + assignment
10% participation in discussions
Seminar Schedule
| Week | Date | Time | Room | Paper Presentations and Discussions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 25. April 2025 | 13:00 c.t. — 15:00 | CISPA C0 (Stuhlsatzenhaus 5), 0.02 | Introduction, Organization, and Discussion about Rogaway's The Moral Character of Cryptographic Work |
| 19 | 9. May 2025 | 13:00 c.t. — 15:00 | E1.7, Room 0.08 | Strycharz and Segijn - The Future of Dataveillance in Advertising Theory and Practice Kotliar and Carmi - Keeping Pegasus on the wing: legitimizing cyber espionage |
| 20 | 16. May 2025 | 13:00 c.t. — 15:00 | CISPA C0 (Stuhlsatzenhaus 5), 0.02 | Stevens - Assembling Cybersecurity: The Politics and Materiality of Technical Malware Reports and the Case of ... West - Amazon: Surveillance as a Service |
| 21 | 23. May 2025 | 13:00 c.t. — 15:00 | CISPA C0 (Stuhlsatzenhaus 5), 0.02 | Zuboff - Big other: Surveillance Capitalism and the Prospects of an Information Civilization Tschantz et al. - SoK: Towards Grounding Sensorship Circumvention in Empiricism |
| 23 | 6. June 2025 | 13:00 c.t. — 15:00 | E1.7, Room 0.08 | Abbas et al. - Cyber Laws and Media Censorship in Pakistan: An Investigation of Governmental Tactics to Curtail ... Broda and Strömbäck - Misinformation, Disinformation, and Fake News: Lessons from an Interdisciplinary, ... |
| 24 | 13. June 2025 | 13:00 c.t. — 15:00 | CISPA C0 (Stuhlsatzenhaus 5), 0.02 | Abelson et al. - Bugs in our Pockets: The Risks of Client-Side Scanning Guberek et al. - Keeping a Low Profile?: Technology, Risk and Privacy among Undocumented Immigrants |
| 26 | 27. June 2025 | 13:00 c.t. — 15:00 | CISPA C0 (Stuhlsatzenhaus 5), 0.02 | Slupska - Safe at Home: Towards a Feminist Critique of Cybersecurity Thomas et al. - SoK: Hate, Harassment, and the Changing Landscape of Online Abuse |
| 27 | 4. July 2025 | 12:00 s.t. — 13:30 (changed) |
CISPA C0 (Stuhlsatzenhaus 5), 0.02 | Song et al. - Collective Privacy Sensemaking on Social Media about Period and Fertility Tracking post Roe v. Wade Daffalla et al. - Defensive Technology Use by Political Activists During the Sudanese Revolution |
| 28 | 11. July 2025 | Unscheduled | ||
| 29 | 18. July 2025 | 13:00 c.t. — 15:00 | CISPA C0 (Stuhlsatzenhaus 5), 0.02 | Group Work Presentations: Activism and Censorship & Harms of Marginalized Populations |
| 30 | 25. July 2025 | 13:00 c.t. — 15:00 | CISPA C0 (Stuhlsatzenhaus 5), 0.02 | Group Work Presentations: External Security of Nation State Actors & Surveillance Capitalism |
Contact
If you have urgent questions about this seminar contact the team via mail at seminar-polsec@cispa.de
Papers
These are (tentatively) the papers we'll be reading during the seminar. All papers are available in the materials section.
Intro Session
- Rogaway - The Moral Character of Cryptographic Work
Activism and Censorship
- Tschantz et al. - SoK: Towards Grounding Sensorship Circumvention in Empiricism
- Daffalla et al. - Defensive Technology Use by Political Activists During the Sudanese Revolution
- Abbas et al. - Cyber Laws and Media Censorship in Pakistan: An Investigation of Governmental Tactics to Curtail Freedom of Expression and Right to Privacy
Harms of Marginalized Populations
- Thomas et al. - SoK: Hate, Harassment, and the Changing Landscape of Online Abuse
- Guberek et al. - Keeping a Low Profile?: Technology, Risk and Privacy among Undocumented Immigrants
- Slupska - Safe at Home: Towards a Feminist Critique of Cybersecurity
- Song et al. - Collective Privacy Sensemaking on Social Media about Period and Fertility Tracking post Roe v. Wade
External Security of Nation State Actors
- Abelson et al. - Bugs in our Pockets: The Risks of Client-Side Scanning
- Kotliar and Carmi - Keeping Pegasus on the wing: legitimizing cyber espionage
- Broda and Strömbäck - Misinformation, Disinformation, and Fake News: Lessons from an Interdisciplinary, Systemic Literature Review
- Stevens - Assembling Cybersecurity: The Politics and Materiality of Technical Malware Reports and the Case of Stuxnet
Surveillance Capitalism
- Zuboff - Big other: Surveillance Capitalism and the Prospects of an Information Civilization
- West - Amazon: Surveillance as a Service
- Strycharz and Segijn - The Future of Dataveillance in Advertising Theory and Practice
Supplementary Reading Material
In addition to the papers, this is the supplementary reading material. For some topics, it might make sense to also read parts of the supplementary reading material to make more sense of the topic. This list ist not exhaustive.
Meta
- Kamara - Crypto for the People (Invited Talk at CRYPTO 2020)
- Rosenbloom - Cryptograph and Collective Power
- Harry - The Adversary: The Philosophy of Cryptography
- Rogaway - The Moral Character of Cryptographic Work (Distinguished Lecture at Asiacrypt 2015)
- Deibert - Toard a Human-Centric Approach to Cybersecurity
Activism and Censorship
- Blond et al. - A Look at Targeted Attacks Through the Lense of an NGO
Harms of Marginalized Populations
- Freed et al. - "A Stalker's Paradise": How Intimate Partner Abusers Exploit Technology
- Majebi and Hamza - Child Safety in the Digital Age: Historical Lessons from Media Regulation and Their Application to Modern Cybersecurity Policies
- Schafer et al. - Participatory Design and Power in Misinformation, Disinformation, and Online Hate Research
- Sim et al. - A Scaleable Inclusive Security Intervention to Center Marginalized and Vulnerable Populations in Security & Privacy Design
External Security of Nation State Actors
- Bhardwaj and Guthoff et al. - Mental Models, Expectations and Implications of Client-Side Scanning: An Interview Study with Experts
- Chen et al. - Social Network Behavior and Public Opinion Manipulation
- Cummings and Kong - Breaking Down "Fake News": Differences Between Misinformation, Disinformation, Rumors, and Propaganda
- Fidler - Regulating the Zero-Day Vulnerability Trade: A Preliminary Analysis
- Lucas - Ethics and Cyber Warfare: The Quest for Responsible Security in the Age of Digital Warfare
- Marczak et al. - When Governments Hack Opponents: A Look at Actors and Technology
- Robinson et al. - Cyber Warfare: Issues and Challenges
Surveillance Capitalism
- TBA
Social Responsibility
- Kekulluoglu et al. - Preserving Privacy as Social Responsibility in Online Social Networks
- Khan et al. - Is Cybersecurity a Social Responsibility?
- Pain - The Social Responsibilities of Scientists
- Scales Avery - The Social Responsibility of Scientists
- Wu et al. - SoK: Social Cybersecurity
Other
- Cavelty and Wenger - Cyber Security Politics: Socio-Technical Transformations and Political Fragmentation
- Christen et al. - The Ethics of Cybersecurity
- Coleman - Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous
- Diffie and Landau - Privacy on The Line: The Politics of Wiretapping and Encryption
- Dunn Cavelty - The Politics of Cybersecurity
- Dwyer et al. - What Can a Critical Cybersecurity Do?
- Egelman et al. - Markets for zero-day exploits: Ethics and Implications
- Hall et al. - The Pitfalls of "Security by Obscurity" And What They Mean for Transparent AI
- Harris - @War: The Rise of The Military-Internet Complex
- Jarvis - Crypto Wars: The Firght for Privacy in the Digital Age
- Marczak et al. - HIDE AND SEEK Tracking NSO Group's Pegasus Spyware to Operations in 45 Countries
- Maurushat - From Cybercrime to Cyberwar: Security through Obscurity or Security through Absurdity?
- Miller and Bossomaier - Cybersecurity, Ethics, and Collective Responsibility
- Parks and Duggan - Principles of Cyberwarfare
- Parsons et al. - The Predator in Your Pocket: A Multidisciplinary Assessment of the Stalkerware Application Industry
- UNICEF Office of Global Insight and Policy - Howard et al. - Digital Misinformation/Disinformation and Children
- Wheeler - In Cyberwar, There Are No Rules
- Zeadally and Flowers - Cyberwar: The What, When, Why and How [Commentary]
- Zuboff - The Age of Surveillance Capitalism