Merlijn Sebrechts

Merlijn Sebrechts

Senior researcher at imec and teaching at Ghent University. Ubuntu Community Council member. I lead a number of research tracks focused on cybersecurity and trust for software & AI.

Protecting data and software from physical and digital attacks
Trustworthy & robust distributed systems
AI supply chain insight & trust

Speaking & consulting

UGent VPN from Ubuntu with open source software

Ghent University uses Cisco AnyConnect VPN and recommends the proprietary “Cisco Secure Client”. While I’m happy there is an actual supported option for Linux users, I’d rather not have more proprietary software on my machine, so I looked for alternative ways to connect.

It's my job as an advisor to say no

Over the past few months, I’ve had multiple conversations with PhD students around a similar topic: the fact that a significant part of my coaching involves critiquing their work and suggesting alternatives.

Llama's Legal Labyrinth

Meta just introduced the Llama 3.1 AI model and accompanied the launch with a blog post explaining “Open Source AI is the path forward” [a]. But buyer beware: Llama 3.1 itself is a legal labyrinth.

What is the Apache 2.0 LLVM Exception?

Some open source projects use the Apache 2.0 license “with LLVM Exception” SPDX: "Apache-2.0 WITH LLVM-exception"). So what is the “LLVM exception” exactly, and why do some projects add it to their license?

A year in the Ubuntu Community Council

Let me tell you a secret. When I was elected to the Ubuntu Community Council in the fall of 2022, I had no idea what to expect. I was excited to start working, but I had no idea what I would be working on.

Dell EcoLoop Pro vs Premier backpack

I bought the Dell EcoLoop Pro, so you don’t have to. Dell EcoLoop Pro At the beginning of this year, I bought the Dell EcoLoop Pro Slim and regretted it immediately. The advertising for it is borderline deceptive, in my opinion.

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