2024-08-07 –, Misora Room
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is thrilled to return to BSides Las Vegas and delve into policy issues that matter most to the security community. At this interactive session, our panelists will share updates on critical digital rights issues and EFF's ongoing efforts to safeguard privacy, combat surveillance, and advocate for freedom of expression. From discussions on hardware hacking to navigating legal and policy landscapes, we invite attendees to engage in dynamic conversations with our experts. This session isn't about passive lectures; it's about fostering meaningful exchanges on today's most pressing policy issues. We will be joined by EFF’s Staff Attorney Hannah Zhao; Associate Director of Community Organizing Rory Mir; and Director of Engineering Alexis Hancock
Panelists from the EFF Staff will give brief updates on key topics in their expertise before turning it over to BSides attendees to ask their burning questions about policy, advocacy and making the future of tech brighter. It's a dynamic session fostering engaging discussions on digital rights featuring an EFF staff attorney, activist, and public interest technologist.
Moderator Rory Mir (they/them) is the Associate Director of Community Organizing on EFF’s activism team. They work with local groups across the US hoping to coordinate with EFF through the grassroots information sharing network Electronic Frontier Alliance (EFA). They also lead on EFF’s work on decentralization, virtual/extended reality, and artificial intelligence. Before EFF, Rory was a cybersecurity educator and an academic researcher on the socio-psychological impacts of digital technology.
Hannah Zhao (she/her) is a Staff Attorney on EFF’s Coders Rights Project. Her work with CRP protects hackers, researchers, and tinkerers on the digital frontier through legal defense, amicus briefs, and education. She also works to push back on emerging surveillance technologies like face recognition, electronic monitoring, and government drones. Hannah has a background in computer science, criminal justice, and international human rights law before her time at EFF.
Alexis Hancock (she/her) is EFF’s Director of Engineering on our Public Interest Technologist team. She researches an intersection of issues on digital rights, encryption, and consumer technology. She is also well known for managing the Certbot project, advocating for open technology standards and for unveiling insecurities in consumer devices.
Chris Vines (he/him) is an EFF Grassroots Advocacy Organizer of EFF's activism team. Chris has extensive experience running local campaigns across the country and brings that expertise to the EFA where he works with local privacy, cybersecurity, broadband access, and student advocacy organizations.
Alexis works to keep the networks strong and encrypted by managing the Certbot project. She researches an intersection of issues on digital rights, encryption, and consumer technology. She believes in an open and equitable web through encouraging local tech literacy, educating other engineers, and advocating for better and stronger tech policy.
She has spoken about user privacy, digital identity, cloud security, open technology standards, and government & corporate surveillance. She has worked in web development and application security for over 10 years.
As Associate Director of Community Organizing, Rory (they/them) coordinates EFF's support of local advocacy groups through the grassroots information-sharing network, Electronic Frontier Alliance (EFA). They also lead on EFF's policy responses to emerging areas of technology such as decentralization, virtual/extended reality, and artificial intelligence.
Prior to joining the EFF, Rory studied impact of technology as a doctoral student of psychology. During their stint in academia they advocated for student and worker privacy, open science, and open education on campus. They also offered cybersecurity trainings for workers, activists, and the general public.