Keren Elazari facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Keren Elazari
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| קרן אלעזרי | |
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Keren Elazari in 2016
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| Born | 1980/1981 (age 43–44) |
| Education | Tel Aviv University (BA, MA) |
| Occupation | Security researcher |
Keren Elazari (Hebrew: קרן אלעזרי), also known as k3r3n3, is an expert in cybersecurity. She is from Israel and works as a writer and speaker. Keren is a senior researcher at the Tel Aviv University Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center. She is known for her work on how hackers can help make the internet safer.
Early Life and Learning
Keren Elazari grew up in Tel Aviv, Israel. When she was about eleven or twelve, the internet became available in her city. She says she learned English and found out about hacking in online chat rooms.
When Keren was 14, she watched the movie Hackers. This film showed young hackers as heroes. Keren said this movie inspired her to become a white-hat hacker. A white-hat hacker is someone who uses their hacking skills for good. They help find weaknesses in computer systems to make them stronger and safer.
Keren joined the Israel Defense Forces. She asked to work in information security. She served in the army for ten years, first in the regular army and later as a reserve officer. She was a cybersecurity officer in the intelligence part of the army.
After her army service, Keren went to Tel Aviv University. She earned two degrees there. One was in history and philosophy of science. The other was in security studies. In 2004, she helped organize Y2hack4. This was the second conference for hackers in Israel.
Career in Cybersecurity
Keren Elazari is a top researcher at Tel Aviv University's Cyber Research Center. She also taught at Singularity University in California for several years. Her research often focuses on cyberwarfare, which is like war fought using computers and the internet.
Outside of her university work, Keren is a security consultant. This means she advises companies on how to protect their computer systems. She has worked with many different organizations.
Keren also helps run BSides Tel Aviv. This is a conference in Tel Aviv for people who research hacking and cybersecurity. She also organizes a group for women who work in cybersecurity. This group helps women in the field connect and support each other.
Speaking About Hackers
Keren Elazari has given many talks about the positive side of hackers. She speaks and writes about how hackers, governments, and private companies can work together.
In 2014, Keren gave a very popular TED talk. It was called "Hackers: The Internet's Immune System". In her talk, she explained that hackers can be like the immune system for the internet. They find problems and help fix them. She talked about the rules of hacking and why it's important to work with hackers to make cybersecurity better. Keren was the first Israeli woman to give a TED Talk.
She has spoken at other big conferences too. These include DEF CON 22 in 2014 and the Atlantic Security Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2015. Keren has also written articles for well-known magazines like Scientific American and Wired.
