EPFL researchers have developed and tested Votegral a complete e-voting pipeline, demonstrating for the first time that there is a plausible and practical approach to coercion-resistant electronic voting in elections.
If real-life applications of quantum computing emerge, it could revolutionize chemistry, physics, computer sciences and more. Despite the apparent progress achieved by Google here, I am cautious about placing full trust in the advances claimed by commercial companies, as their competitive approach may prioritize hype or market value. Given the extent to which scientific research (…)
Here is another post-quantum implementation of a popular protocol: Signal announced the addition of a quantum-safe algorithm to increase the protection of the messages sent between two Signal users. Like other quantum-safe algorithms, it doesn’t replace the currently used cryptographic base, but rather enhances it. Interestingly, the biggest hurdle was the size of the new (…)
State-of-the-art architectures in many software applications and critical infrastructures are based on deep learning models. These models have been shown to be quite vulnerable to very small and carefully crafted perturbations, which pose fundamental questions in terms of safety, security, or performance guarantees at large. Several defense mechanisms have been developed in the last years (…)
Die Kampagne der Bahnhofsmission in Essen um die Privatsphäre von Obdachlosen zu schützen, ist eine wichtige Erinnerung daran, dass auch im sogenannten ‘öffentlichen’ Raum Personen durchaus ein Recht auf Privatsphäre haben. Aber um dieses Problem tatsächlich zu lösen, müssten die Plattformen auf denen Content, der von Voyeurismus lebt, publiziert wird, diesem Geschäftsmodell den Hahn abdrehen.
The author provides a timely perspective on how “sovereign AI”—the ability of countries to control and customize foundational AI—has become central to global strategy. I particularly appreciated the argument that genuine sovereignty can only be achieved through truly open, transparent, and adaptable models. Switzerland’s Apertus exemplifies this approach, and it remains to be seen how (…)
De plus en plus d’entreprises locales montent au créneau pour exiger que les autorités prennent des décisions permettant de réduire leur dépendance à des acteurs étrangers en matière de technologie. Une pression qui se traduit par des procédures juridiques.
Avec la participation de Jean-Pierre Hubaux, directeur académique du C4DT.
With our conference on “Assessing the Disruptions by AI Agents” in mind, I found this article compelling because it documents the alarming acceleration of cyberattack capabilities thanks to AI agents. This raises the critical question of whether we are approaching a tipping point at which defence becomes structurally impossible. However, the authors offer cautious optimism, (…)
Suite au récent refus de l’Allemagne d’adopter la loi européenne dite « Chat Control », et à l’approche de son vote au niveau européen, cet article — accompagné d’une courte vidéo — propose une synthèse claire et accessible des points de vue divergents entre législateurs et experts scientifiques.
Many countries are investing in “sovereign” AI to compensate for the linguistic, cultural, and security shortcomings of American and Chinese models. Examples include SEA-LION in Singapore, ILMUchat in Malaysia, and Apertus in Switzerland, which are designed for local uses and characteristics. However, these initiatives face major obstacles: very high costs, massive computing power and talent (…)
An important part of digital trust is being in charge of your own data. Unfortunately, nowadays this is not at all the case. Some of your data resides in the cloud, e.g., with cloud-drives like Google Drive, directly accessible to you. But most of your data is hidden from you, saved on the servers of (…)
This long portrait of one of the leading authorities in the world on AI touches only lightly on concepts that those focused on safe and trustworthy AI prioritize, like explainability. But I think the key take-away from this article is that ‘it is hard, in the current AI race, to separate out purely intellectual inquiry (…)
I liked this primer on GenAI-powered fraud so much that I forwarded it to my family members. A thorough overview of the current landscape of tech-based fraud, it analyses the subject from a technical, social and economical perspective, yet remains accessible to a broader public.
Even if you’re not living in the U.S., this article provides some useful insights about how to make informed decisions about protecting your data.
Having witnessed the suspense and uncertainties of last Sunday’s voting on the Swiss eID law, and since then, the threat to cancel the result due to the alleged interference of Swisscom, I am left pondering what is specifically controversial about the eID. If we compare the eID to other services that have moved from analogue (…)
While we programmers are still figuring out where and how LLMs can help us get our work done, it’s worth taking a step back to reflect on what we know so far. I like this piece, which compares LLMs to “lightning-fast” junior programmers and describes how we can deploy them to deliver results. Although not (…)
No sooner had I begun to express my bemusement at the apparent popularity of a new app that pays users to record their phone calls and sells the data to AI firms, than the app was summarily shut down after a security flaw was reported that allowed anyone to access the phone numbers, call recordings, (…)
I think it’s really important that we can point to specific examples to explain why misinformation can be harmful. In this report, the researchers used the Meta Content Library, which allows Facebook comments to be analyzed in an anonymized way, to demonstrate four examples of how misinformation caused clear harm in Australia. Countering misinformation is (…)
I appreciate this article because it demonstrates—through use cases and comparisons—how applying democratic processes, such as referendums, to digital transformation can lead to more democracy-friendly digitalization. The Swiss e-ID referendum is a prime example: although the process was relatively slow, it ultimately resulted in a privacy-by-design solution with a high level of transparency.
A short and nice definition of agents: ‘An LLM agent runs tools in a loop to achieve a goal.’ Of course, this is only the technical description, and the applications are also very important. But for the moment we need to be clear that, as long as agents do not possess the ability to make (…)
With the increased usage of LLMs in programming, the problem of supply chain attacks multiplies: first of all, the programmers need to make sure that the libraries proposed by the LLM are secure, maintained, and trustworthy. Now it turns out that LLMs even change the quality of the code depending on the indicated goal of (…)
This ban is notable because, rather than targeting cutting-edge AI chips, it focuses on mass-produced processors that are essential for wider industry use. By disrupting the supply of equipment and forcing Chinese tech giants to innovate internally, it raises the stakes in the US–China tech conflict. This will likely accelerate the development of domestic production (…)
Today’s identity security faces challenges like misuse and tracking. Our goal is to enable secure, anonymous, unlinkable E-ID interactions by researching novel cryptographic algorithms. This boosts user trust, creates new business opportunities, and cuts financial losses after data breaches.
Phishing is a growing societal threat and requires urgent, effective solutions. Through a collaborative process involving field feedback, ideation workshops, and state-of-the-art analysis, this open innovation project will explore technical, organizational, and legal solutions. The results will be prototypes, practical guidelines, and recommendations to strengthen digital security against phishing.
