Melanie Rieback facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Melanie Rieback
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Rieback in 2016
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| Born | 26 October 1978 |
| Education | University of Miami (B.S., 2000) Delft University of Technology (M.S., 2003) Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (PhD, 2008) |
| Occupation | Computer scientist |
Melanie R. Rieback, born on October 26, 1978, is a smart computer scientist. She is famous for her work on keeping RFID technology safe and private. Think of RFID as tiny tags that can be read from a distance, like in some payment cards or library books.
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Melanie Rieback's Early Life
Melanie Rieback was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1978. She grew up in Florida. Her parents, David and Eileen Rieback, were also involved in technology. They worked at a famous research company called Bell Labs.
Melanie Rieback's Education
Melanie studied a lot! In 2000, she earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Science. She studied both Computer Science and Biology at the University of Miami. Later, in 2003, she got her Master's degree in Computer Science. This was from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. She continued her studies and earned her PhD in Computer Science in 2008. This higher degree was from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, also in the Netherlands.
Melanie Rieback's Work and Discoveries
What is RFID Guardian?
Melanie Rieback once said that keeping RFID secure is very important. She explained that if RFID is used on things like passports, one security problem could cause big trouble.
Melanie developed the RFID Guardian while she was a student. Her professor, Andrew S. Tanenbaum, helped her. She created the first-ever RFID virus. This showed how easy it could be to hack into RFID systems. The RFID Guardian can "jam" or block signals. This stops RFID tags from being read from far away. Even with some limits, this technology helps show how to make RFID safer.
Some people worried about sharing how RFID tags could be hacked. But Melanie believed it was important to show these problems. This way, people could work on fixing them. It made the threats real, not just ideas.
Girl Geek Dinner NL: Supporting Women in Tech
Melanie helped start Girl Geek Dinner NL. This group is part of a bigger organization called Girl Geek Dinners. Its goal is to encourage more women to work in technology fields. These fields are often mostly male. At their dinners, successful women in tech give talks. They then answer questions from the audience. Men can also attend if a woman invites them.
Radically Open Security: Making the Cyber World Safer
Melanie Rieback is also the CEO and co-founder of Radically Open Security. This is a special organization that helps make the internet safer for everyone. They only take on jobs that are ethical and helpful. They also share their tools and computer code online for free. This means other companies can learn to do the same security work themselves. Even if it means less business for them, they want to help make the cyber world more secure. Radically Open Security offers many services. These include checking computer code for problems and analyzing digital evidence.
Melanie Rieback's Other Contributions
Melanie also worked on the Human Genome Project. This was a huge science project to map all human genes. She helped write an important paper about the first steps of sequencing the human genome.
Melanie Rieback's Awards and Recognition
Melanie Rieback has received several awards for her work. In 2010, she was a finalist for the ICT Professional of the Year Award. She was also named one of the most successful women in the Netherlands by Viva Magazine. In 2016, she was recognized again. She was listed as one of the top fifty inspiring Dutch women. This list is called "Inspiring Fifty: Netherlands 2016."
See also
In Spanish: Melanie Rieback para niños
