Zilverling

Dr. rer. nat. A. Dirksen (Alexandra)

Assistant Professor
EEMCS-CS-SCS
Zilverling
a.dirksen@utwente.nl
+31534899097
Business card

I research the Security and Privacy aspects of Information Systems, focusing on Web Technologies. Within this context, I examine the underlying protocols and procedures that backbone "the Internet". I strive to distribute responsibilities and reduce dependencies, areas where applied crypto is often useful. 
Beyond its building blocks, I observe this technology from a systemic view, identify sociotechnical dependencies, dig for underlying trust assumptions, and explore ways to reduce complexity.
My work is driven by a mission to shed light on ethical and societal implications of digital systems we rely on every day. Ultimately, I strive to foster an environment where the internet and its interconnected systems become a resource for people, rather than vice versa.

Expertise

  • Computer Science

    • Security and Privacy
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Disclosure Policy
    • Exploratory Study
    • Internet Technology
    • Providing Access
    • Facebook
    • Misplaced Trust

Organisations

Publications

2026

Making Sense of Consent: A Feasibility Study on Simplifying Cookie Banners with Plain Language (2026)In WPES '26: Proceedings of the 25th Workshop on Privacy in the Electronic Society (pp. 293-298). Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) (E-pub ahead of print/First online). Bećirović, M., Dao, H., Kaur, M., Johns, M. & Dirksen, A.https://doi.org/10.1145/3847192.3847364Fair Enough? Assessing Open Science Practices on a Top-Tier Security Privacy Conference (2026)In 2026 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy Workshops (SPW) (pp. 279-284). Heinrich, T., Giessler, S., Klein, D. & Dirksen, A.https://doi.org/10.1109/spw72489.2026.00034A Matter of (Mis) Trust: Critical Reflections on the Leap of Trust in Web Technologies (2026)[Thesis › PhD Thesis - Research UT, graduation UT]. Dirksen, A.https://doi.org/10.24355/DBBS.084-202603051345-0

2025

The Importance of Being Earnest: Shedding Light on Johnny's (False) Sense of Privacy (2025)In 2025 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (SP). Agahari, W., Dirksen, A., Johns, M., de Reuver, M. & Fiebig, T.https://doi.org/10.1109/sp61157.2025.00150Don't Patch the Researcher, Patch the Game: A Systematic Approach for Responsible Research via Federated Ethics Boards (2025)In NSPW '24: Proceedings of the New Security Paradigms Workshop (pp. 126-141). Dirksen, A., Giessler, S., Erz, H., Johns, M. & Fiebig, T.https://doi.org/10.1145/3703465.3703475

2023

Network Responses to Russia's Invasion of Ukraine in 2022: A Cautionary Tale for Internet Freedom (2023)In 32nd USENIX Security Symposium (USENIX Security 23). Ramesh, R., Raman, R. S., Virkud, A., Dirksen, A., Huremagic, A., Fifield, D., Rodenburg, D., Hynes, R., Madory, D. & Ensafi, R.

Research profiles

Courses academic year 2025/2026

Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.

Address

University of Twente

Zilverling (building no. 11)
Hallenweg 19
7522 NH Enschede
Netherlands

Navigate to location

Organisations

Additional contact information

Room: 2003 (Zilverling)

QR codeScan the QR code or
Download vCard