365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge

 🌟 Ich habe aufregende Neuigkeiten: wir sind mit den Sch(mutzengeln im Finale vom swt-Umweltpreis gekommen! Das freut uns riesig weil das eine Riesenchance ist sichtbarer zu werden und noch mehr Sch(m)utzengel dazuzugewinnen! 💪 Bisher haben wir seit 2022 über 900 Müllsäcke gefüllt, über 275.000 Kippen aufgesammelt und auf fast 200 Sch(m)utzengel gewachsen! Natürlich machen wir weiter. 💘 Wenn du meine Initiative unterstützen magst, kannst du deine Stimme abgeben bis Do. 22.10. 12 Uhr! Hier geht es zur Abstimmung: https://swt-umweltpreis.de/projekte/6a58f3c38d0588b0cbfac1b7 🙏 Gerne kannst du auch unterstützen, indem du Verwandten, Freund:innen, Kolleg:innen usw. fragst. Gemeinsam können wir mehr erreichen! Danke! Danke! Danke!

I'm honored that the paper I authored with Dr Alina Mia Udall and Sudha Setty (She/Her) is on the front page of the UNECE website! And I'm also excited about it because it addresses an important question that is easy to overlook: Why don't people choose the sustainable option, even when they know it makes sense? Many technologies and solutions for the sustainable energy transition are already commercially available. We have information campaigns. We have financial incentives. And still, uptake is often slower than expected. One reason is the cost of change. Not only the financial cost. Imagine that you know better insulation would reduce your energy bills. You still need to find a contractor, compare offers, apply for support, manage the paperwork and deal with the disruption at home. Or you support renewable energy in principle, but stay with your current energy provider because changing tariffs takes time and effort. Or you see the value of a digital energy management sys...

Sometimes, I feel drawn toward reading a book, without knowing why. When I then read it, there is always an important lesson waiting for me. This time, it was about something we all have with us all the time: our body and how to listen to it. I recently read "Inner Sense: How the New Science of Interoception Can Transform Your Health" by Caroline Williams (in German: "Sich fühlen: Die neue Wissenschaft der Interozeption als Schlüssel für körperliche und geistige Gesundheit"). The book is about interoception : our ability to sense and interpret what is happening inside our body. Our heartbeat, breathing, hunger, tension, fatigue, temperature, emotions… all those signals constantly provide information about our physical and mental state. And learning to notice these signals can help us better understand what our body needs and support our health. I learned a lot but also already knew some of the helpful practical tips, for example, that meditation and mindfulness can ...

For the first time in five years, I won't be presenting at the UN. And I'm actually excited about it because I'll be doing something else: In 2021, I was invited to join a UNECE - United Nations Economic Commission for Europe task force because of my combined expertise in #cybersecurity and #environmentalSustainability. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of contributing to the task force’s work on digitalization. Every year, I’ve presented our results to policymakers at the UN in Geneva. This year will be different. I’ve been so busy with exciting cybersecurity projects that, for the first time, I won’t be presenting our work. And yet, I’ll be there and I’m even more excited about this year’s format: 🎤 A keynote in conversation. Instead of me presenting alone, other experts will join the conversation and bring their perspectives to the table. Together, we’ll share our work, discuss the challenges ahead, and hopefully spark some new ideas among policymakers. From cybersecu...

  💡 I'm sharing this because it made my day. And here's a little warning: when you do this too, you might just make someone else's day as well. 👩‍🏫 Recently, I was asked to jump into a cybersecurity course. From day one, it was a wonderful working with the group. We explored the course material together in a fun, interactive, and practical ways. And judging by the feedback, they appreciated it too. 😁 One message especially made me smile: "By the way, I really like your teaching style, that's exactly what we needed from the very beginning. ☺️ " 😍 Even after many years of experience as a trainer, and even though I regularly receive this kind of feedback, it never stops being wonderful. Comments like this motivate me to continue giving my best. ❤️ So, who would you like to share your appreciation with today? A few genuine words can make a bigger difference than you might think. And if you're looking for a trainer in the field of #cybersecurity, feel...

  💡 Every day, millions of people cross bridges without a second thought – until one day, a bridge closes and reminds us how much we rely on the invisible foundations of modern life. 🌉 Recently, someone told me that a major bridge in Bonn, Germany – the Rheinbrücke Bonn-Nord – has been closed. 🚗 According to official information, the bridge was closed on 3 June 2026 after inspections found structural damage to the supporting structure. This bridge is one of the most important east-west connections in the Bonn/Rhein-Sieg region, with around 90,000 to 100,000 vehicles previously using it every day. The result: long traffic jams. 🛣️ And honestly, I understand how frustrating this must be for everyone who depends on that route. At the same time, it made me think about something deeper: this is not only a local transport issue. It is a reminder of how much our daily lives depend on infrastructure that we often take for granted. 📗 It also reminded me of my chapter in A Guide t...

 📚 This comic book inspires me and the next generation to care well for our planet because it is made with so much eye for detail! 🔗 A few years ago, I connected with Louis Yuen here on social media, and I was immediately drawn to his unique comic-style illustrations. Ever since, I've continued to be impressed by the creativity, passion, and purpose behind his work. 💡 Louis has found a wonderful way to make climate science accessible and engaging for young readers. His comics transform complex research into stories that educate, inspire curiosity, and empower the next generation of environmentalists. This is important because education is one of the most powerful tools we have for creating a better future. 🙏 So I was absolutely delighted to receive one of his Noella Environmental Education Science Comics books! I genuinely enjoyed reading it. Every page is filled with thoughtful details and illustrations created with so much love and care. They made me smile again and again....

🚬 5,000 cigarette butts in just 2.5 hours. But the most encouraging part wasn't the 5,000+ cigarette butts we removed: ☠️ Cigarette butts may be small, but they're the world's most littered item. Their filters are made of plastic and contain toxic chemicals that can pollute soil and waterways for years. 🙏 Together, we cleaned the area around the central bus station last Saturday during the global No Butts Day. We had countless conversations with passers-by. Many thanked us for our work, and many were genuinely shocked that people still throw cigarette butts and other litter on the ground without a second thought. 💚 These conversations matter. Every cigarette butt picked up is one less polluting our environment, and every discussion helps raise awareness. A huge thank you to everyone who joined and everyone who puts their butts in a bin! #NoButtsDay #CigaretteButts #LitterCleanup #PlasticPollution #CleanCities  

💡 Impact doesn't come only from what I do myself, but also from what I enable others to do. 🛡️ Over the past few months, my work has been incredibly busy, with a strong focus on cybersecurity projects. While I enjoy the challenge and importance of this work, it leaves me with less time to actively contribute to environmental protection initiatives. 💰 That's exactly why I also support impactful conservation projects financially. Even when I can't contribute my time, I can still help them to take meaningful action. 💪 One project I'm especially happy to have supported is an initiative by Planet Wild and the Black Jaguar Foundation to create the longest biodiversity corridor in South America. 🌴 The Brazilian Cerrado is the most biodiverse savanna on Earth, home to around 5% of all known plant and animal species. Despite its global importance and its vital role in South America's water cycle, it has lost more than half of its native vegetation over the past 50 y...

 📚 "Does your books really make a difference?" Yes, they do: 🌍 Yesterday, on the final day of my course for climate activists and others working hard for a healthier planet, a participant bought my book and asked how widely it is read. 😁 To be honest, I didn't know the latest numbers, so I looked them and I was pleasantly surprised myself! 📖 A Guide to a Healthier Planet has now been downloaded: • Volume 1: more than 46,500 times • Volume 2: more than 22,000 times • Volume 3: more than 7,700 times (Combined figures for the English editions and German translations.) 🌱 The goal of these books is simple: to make the science behind climate change, pollution, and biodiversity accessible to everyone, while offering practical ideas for what each of us can do in our daily lives to help. 💪 When we talk about creating a healthier planet, it's easy to feel that individual actions don't matter. But if every reader takes just one action inspired by these books, the ...

 🎉 I'm happy to share that I earned another certification this week! 💻️ This one was special. Back in late 2014, I made the switch from Windows to Linux to prepare for a new role in cybersecurity. More than a decade later, I can confidently say it's one of the best technology decisions I've ever made. 📖 Although I was already very comfortable working with Linux, studying for this certification pushed me to deepen my knowledge even further. I rehearsed concepts I use every day, but also studied new topics, and even learned a few things that will make my day-to-day work easier and more efficient. 🚀 Learning never stops in cybersecurity, which is awesome! And although I'm happy that it is done now, I'm already working on the next challenge! #Linux #CyberSecurity #ContinuousLearning #ProfessionalDevelopment #Certification

  🎤 Last month, I had the pleasure of being a keynote speaker at the wonderful CANCOM Security Day 2026 in Vienna. When you watch the event summary, do you notice something? 💻 After arriving and receiving a warm welcome, I made sure everything was ready for my keynote. Once that was taken care of, I had time to walk around the venue and enjoy some inspiring conversations with attendees. 👬 As I looked around, I noticed something familiar: there were almost only men. To be honest, this was not surprising. When I started my career in #cybersecurity, most of my colleagues were men. Today, when I teach, most of my students are men. And at the majority of cybersecurity conferences and industry events I attend, most participants and speakers are men. Cancom Security Day was not the exception: it reflected the reality of our industry. 👭 Of course, I would love to see more women enter and thrive in cybersecurity. The field needs diverse perspectives, experiences, and voices. 🫅 At ...

💡 The more I learn about AI security, the more I know about that using AI without proper security mechanisms is a serious risk. 🆘 For example, during a recent security test, I asked an AI chatbot to do something very simple: repeat the word "help!" indefinitely. And that's exactly what it did. help! help! help! help! ... And on and on it went, until I manually stopped it. 💸 While this might seem harmless, every generated token consumes compute resources and generates cost. At scale, these kinds of prompts can become very expensive. 👛 This type of attack is known as Denial of Wallet (DoW). Unlike a traditional Denial of Service (DoS) attack, where the goal is to make a service unavailable, a Denial of Wallet attack aims to drain your budget by forcing excessive consumption of AI resources, tokens, API calls, or compute power. 💸 The threat is very real. Recent research demonstrated attacks that increased AI agent execution costs by up to 658 times while still p...

🤩 I went to a festival for a casual stroll and somehow ended up being interviewed on the radio! This is how that happened: ☀️ Last weekend, I visited a festival in my city with no plans other than to wander around and enjoy the great weather. As I was enjoying myself, I had wonderful conversations with people I had never met before, and some of them turned out to be surprisingly fruitful. 🎤 For example, I asked the local radio station what the word "frei" ("free") in their name actually means. This simple question led to a conversation about other topics and eventually in an invitation to talk on air about the litter-picking initiative I'm currently leading. 💚 It was a lot of fun. And it reminded me how valuable the skills we build in one area of life can be in another: the professional speaking experience I've developed through my work helped me communicate a cause I care deeply about without any preparation. 🔗 If you're looking for a speaker f...

 🥳 I'm happy to see that our recent #litterpicking event was mentioned in the newspaper, as it has inspired others to join our initiative and help keep our city clean!

  🌱 Today showed again that one person can spark real change: 💭 People often think a single action by one individual won’t make much of a difference. Today proved the exact opposite. 📩 A few weeks ago, a neighbor reached out about her street and the nearby park being overwhelmed by litter. Instead of accepting it as “just the way things are,” she took action. Together, we decided to organize a community litter-picking event. 🤝 Today, that idea became reality. 👥 She invited her neighbors, and I invited our litter-picking community. In the end, around 15 adults and 15 children showed up, and even more children joined in after seeing what we were doing. ✨ What started with one email turned into something much bigger: a clean park, a cleaner street, happy faces, new friendships, and a powerful learning experience for the children. We also spent the afternoon outdoors, active, and doing something meaningful together. 🏡 This is what community looks like. This is what happens...