RuhrSec 2025 | Keynote – Complexity Kills – Why Adding Layers of Security Doesn’t Solve Much

RuhrSec is the annual English speaking IT security conference with cutting-edge security talks by renowned experts. RuhrSec is organized by Hackmanit. 🔽 More information … ——— Keynote // Complexity Kills – Why Adding Layers of Security Doesn’t Solve Much Abstract // Many of the technologies (e.g., email or the Web) we use today have been designed decades ago. Over the years, several additions have been made to these technologies to add security, be it in the form of transport encryption or security mechanisms supported by major browsers. However, the overwhelming evidence suggests that the addition of these mechanisms is only beneficial for a tiny fraction of affected operators. Indeed, merely adding security mechanisms leads to confusion about threat models and misunderstandings about the mechanisms. In this keynote, I'll underline this statement and identify what I believe are key issues to overcome to secure both the email and Web ecosystem. ——— Biography // Ben Stock is a tenured faculty at the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security in Saarbrücken, Germany. Ben leads the Secure Web Application Group at CISPA, and his research focuses on various aspects of Web and network security, with a recent focus in particular on (un)usability of security mechanisms. His group regularly publishes at all major security conferences and Ben serves on the PC and in chair roles for various security conferences. Beyond the focus on academic output, together with his students, he regularly aims to bridge the gap between scientists and practitioners through talks at non-academic conferences like OWASP AppSec or Ruhrsec. Speaker // Ben Stock X –   / kcotsneb   ➡️ Slides - Download https://www.ruhrsec.de/downloads/slid... ——— 🚀 Subscribe to Our Channel:    / @hackmanit-it-security   👉 Read More About Interesting It Security Topics on Our Blog: https://hackmanit.de/en/blog-en ✍️ Want a Deeper Dive? Training courses in Single Sign-On (OAuth, OpenID Connect, and SAML), Secure Web Development, TLS, and Web Services are available here: https://hackmanit.de/en/training/port... ——— 🌍 RuhrSec Conference Website: https://www.ruhrsec.de 🌍 Visit Our Website – Hackmanit: https://hackmanit.de/en ✖️ Follow RuhrSec on X:   / ruhrsec   ✖️ Follow Hackmanit on X:   / hackmanit   ✔ Follow RuhrSec on Linkedin:   / ruhrsec   ✔ Follow Hackmanit on Linkedin:   / hackmanit   Follow Hackmanit on XING: https://www.xing.com/pages/hackmanitgmbh ——— Thanks for your attention and support. Stay secure. 🫶 #encryption #hacking #websecurity #RuhrSec #itsecurity #itsicherheit #cybersecurity #cybersicherheit