Keren Elazari

Keren Elazari (Hebrew: קרן אלעזרי; born 1980 or 1981^[1]), also known as k3r3n3,^[2] is an Israeli cybersecurity analyst, writer, and speaker.^[3][4] She is a senior researcher at the Tel Aviv University Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center.^[3][5]

Keren Elazari
קרן אלעזרי
Keren Elazari in 2016
Born	1980 or 1981 (age 43–44)[1] Tel Aviv, Israel
Education	Tel Aviv University (BA, MA)
Occupation	Security researcher
Website	www.k3r3n3.com

Early life and education

Elazari was born in 1980 or 1981^[1] and grew up in Tel Aviv, Israel.^[2] Her father is Ami Elazari, the CEO of an electric company and a former member of the Israel Defense Forces intelligence group, Unit 8200. Her mother works for an airline.^[4] Internet became available in Tel Aviv when Elazari was eleven or twelve years old, and she says she learned English and learned about hacking in online chat rooms.^[2][4] In 1995, when she was 14, she saw the film Hackers.^[2][1] She said the story, which portrayed a young group of hackers as heroes, served as inspiration for her to become a white-hat hacker.^[2][6][7]

Elazari was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces, where she asked to be placed in a role relating to information security. She ultimately served in the army for a total of ten years, both in the standing army and later in the reserve, and was a cybersecurity officer in the intelligence arm.^[4] She attended Tel Aviv University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in history and philosophy of science and ideas and her Master of Arts in security studies.^[4][8] She also has the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification,^[8] which she earned in 2007.^[4] In 2004, she organized with Neora Shem-Shaul Y2hack4, the second Israeli hackers conference. ^[9]

Career

Elazari is a senior researcher at the Tel Aviv University's Cyber Research Center.^[3][10] She was also a teaching fellow at Singularity University in California from 2012 until at least 2018.^[8][4] Her areas of research include cyberwarfare and politics.^[6] Outside of academia, Elazari was a white-hat hacker, and continues to work as a security consultant.^[7][5] In the past she has worked with various companies and organisations, including as a security specialist and industry analyst with Gigaom Research,^[11] and as an adviser to the cryptocurrency technology company Epiphyte.^[1]

Elazari runs BSides Tel Aviv, a hacking and cybersecurity research conference in Tel Aviv.^[2] She also runs a professional meetup for women in cybersecurity.^[4]

Elazari has given several talks about the positive impact of hackers,^[12][6] and has spoken and written about the dynamic between hackers, the government, and private companies.^[5] In 2014, Elazari gave a popular^[12][5] TED talk titled "Hackers: The Internet's Immune System". She spoke about hackers, the ethics of hacking, and the importance of engaging with hackers to improve cybersecurity.^[2][13] She was the first Israeli woman to give a TED Talk.^[4] She spoke at DEF CON 22 in 2014, delivering a talk titled "Empowering Hackers to Create a Positive Impact",^[1] and has spoken at other conferences including the Atlantic Security Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2015.^[6] Elazari has written articles in publications including Scientific American^[14] and Wired.^[15]

Publications

• Wheeler, Tarah (2016). Women In Tech: Take Your Career to the Next Level with Practical Advice and Inspiring Stories. Chang, Angie; Cunningham, Katie; Elazari, Keren; Johnson, Miah; Smith, Kristin Toth; Taylor, Kamilah; Wu, Brianna (Contributors). Sasquatch Books.^[4]