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How can I make my Internet of Things devices secure?

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Who is liable if software on my Internet of Things devices is not up to date?

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What does ForDaySec's research look like in practice?

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How do users use Internet of Things devices at home and at work?

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How can I make my Internet of Things devices secure?

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Who is liable if software on my Internet of Things devices is not up to date?

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What does ForDaySec's research look like in practice?

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How do users use Internet of Things devices at home and at work?

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ForDaySec in a nutshell…

ForDaySec is an interdisciplinary research association for improving IT security in everyday digital life. The focus is on the development of technologies and solutions suitable for everyday use, with which the opportunities of digitization can be safely exploited in various areas of life and work.

To this end, researchers from computer science, sociology and law from five Bavarian universities are working closely together – with the common goal of providing orientation for people in today’s world.
You can find more information in the FAQ.

© Steffen Böttcher

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Yes to digitization in Bavaria – but safely! Cybersecurity plays a key role for our liberal society: digitization permeates all areas of life. At the same time, the threat of criminal attacks on the digital infrastructure is growing dramatically. In Bavaria, we take the digital signs of the times seriously. Because: cybersecurity is quality of life.

– Markus Blume, Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts

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On behalf of the Munich Security Network (Sicherheitsnetzwerk München e.V.) with its 85 member organizations, I assure you of our support for the joint project ForDaySec. We are happy to be your partner in the implementation of the project. “Security by Design” is an essential building block of a successful cyber risk mitigation strategy.

– Peter Möhring, Managing Director Sicherheitsnetzwerk München e.V.

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ForDaySec’s project is of considerable interest to the cybersecurity topic platform. Effective, user-friendly, and low-threshold procedures, methods, and tools for secure and confidential communication of networked systems and people in everyday life pose a major challenge. Researching solutions for this addresses a societal need.

– Dr. Robert Couronné, Bayern Innovativ, Head of the Cybersecurity Platform of the Center for Digitalization Bavaria (ZD.B)

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The interdisciplinary approach of computer science, law and sociology made possible in ForDaySec is very much in line with the requirements that data protection places on large and medium-sized companies alike today in order to contain risks to the fundamental rights of citizens and at the same time to realize innovative products and business ideas.

– Andreas Sachs, Vice President of the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision

Cross-cutting Issues

Exchange, cooperation, and collaboration across disciplinary boundaries, as envisioned in ForDaySec, needs meaningful common questions to address the complex problem of security in everyday digitization. The ForDaySec research network has therefore set itself four network-wide topics, for which all disciplinary perspectives are necessary.

Awareness

The “human factor” is crucial for IT security and data protection. Until now, it has often been assumed that people understand the behavior and limitations of security and privacy mechanisms. However, the willingness to address these issues is low.

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Updatability

Timely rollout of updates after vulnerabilities become known is critical to the security of everyday digitization. ForDaySec addresses the issue of device and system updatability at four different, interconnected levels.

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Security Show Case

A secure system performs its duties “normally” in everyday digital life, and users only notice the absence of sufficient security functions. The Security Show Case uses prototypes to demonstrate the problem case and how everyday life can be made more secure.

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Everyday Social Practices

Cross-cutting theme 4 deals with different levels of cybersecurity:
Everyday Social Practices. It thus combines results from its own research on the ethno- and technographic use of technology, data protection, and digital security with the work being done at the researc association.

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Dialog

26. February 2024 - Event

ACNS 2025

The 23rd International Conference on Applied Cryptography and Network Security (ACNS 2025) will be held in Munich, Germany on 23-26 June 2025, hosted by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and the Bavarian Research Association “Security in Everyday Digitization” (ForDaySec).

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2. November 2023 - Event

Post-quantum cryptography: Counting Down till 2033

For the opening event of our Distinguished Lecture Series: Security in Everyday Digitization, we invited Prof. Dr. Bart Preneel from the KU Leuven in Belgium.

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22. March 2023 - Event

Everyday life – digital and secure?

In this public kick-off event of the research network we presented our research project.

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27. September 2022 - Press Release

New Bavarian research network conducts research on everyday digitization risks

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Events

More about our public sessions on our events page

About our events

Press

You are a reporter or part of the media and want to know more about us and our members?

More for press/media

LinkedIn

Follow us on LinkedIn and keep up to date with our activities and events!

To the LinkedIn profile

Office

The office of the network is your contact for your questions about our research network!

More info about the office

FAQ – QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

What does the Bavarian research association ForDaySec do?

The research is oriented towards the reality of life and work of people and companies. To this end, four cross-cutting topics will relate technical, social science and legal expertise to one another and strive for a comprehensive understanding in order to develop solution approaches for digital security that are truly implementable.

A selection of the specific research questions in the subprojects:

  • Is data protection guaranteed for app-controlled Internet of Things (IoT) devices? Who is liable for IT security vulnerabilities in IoT devices? The buyer or the manufacturer?
  • How are IoT devices used in everyday life and how competent are users in using them? How are users embedded in their organizations and institutions when using these devices?
  • How can IoT devices be securely integrated (e.g., using encryption techniques) into existing systems and secured corporate networks? How can insecure endpoints encapsulate and monitor these systems?
  • How can software developers build privacy literacy with a focus on usability and explainability through software components and training environments?

You can take a closer look at all subprojects in the menu at the beginning of this page under research topics.

In addition, work is also carried out across the disciplines and subprojects on network-wide topics:

  • Awareness: What education and knowledge transfer are necessary and how can complex IT security content be explained? Are there IT security mechanisms that run automatically without affecting the usability of the systems?
  • Updateability: Regular updates are critical to IT security for both software and IoT devices. Who is legally liable for security vulnerabilities caused by missing updates? How does that look for devices in the low-price segment?
  • Security Show Case: The goal is to develop a demonstrator that enables the testing and evaluation of research results in realistic scenarios.
  • Everyday Social Practices: How do people deal with smart devices and security infrastructures in their private everyday lives? How do small and medium-sized enterprises, large companies and organizations deal with existing security infrastructures?

Further information on the subprojects can be found on the Verbund-wide topics page.

What is the motivation of ForDaySec?

Bringing research back to the actual applications and needs of people – that was the basic motivation of the ForDaySec scientists. A successful digitization strategy is closely tied to cybersecurity and is therefore highly relevant to society. IT security research is usually geared to the speed of digitization, looking at applications that could become real in 5-10 years to be prepared for the worst case scenario. The starting point for ForDaySec was to specifically change the perspective and take a look at existing digital infrastructures from people’s everyday lives.

What are the research objectives?

The goal is to find answers to the overarching research question, “How can IT security be technically implemented in people’s everyday lives and communicated to people so that they can actually implement it?” This requires understanding technical and day-to-day issues and hurdles. This happens in the four network-wide topics and eight subprojects (in the menu under “Research topics”).

How do I find out about results and solutions?

ForDaySec also publishes new findings on its own LinkedIn channel. Follow us!

Can I be a citizen:in or small
or medium-sized company into research?

ForDaySec is interested in different perspectives from private households and companies (especially SMEs) in dealing with IT security. To this end, case studies will be prepared in the course of the project. All persons are welcome to participate in empirical surveys who are involved in IT security in companies or in everyday life. If you are interested, please contact us via our e-mail address fordaysec@uni-passau.de.

How can I get in touch with ForDaySec?

The office at the University of Passau is the first point of contact for all inquiries. Please feel free to call us at +49 851 509-6043 or send us an e-mail fordaysec@uni-passau.de. For initial information, the association’s website and, of course, LinkedIn are available.

Who is behind ForDaySec?

ForDaySec is a network of 20 scientists. They work within the framework of eight subprojects located at five Bavarian universities: University of Passau, Technical University of Munich, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg and at the University of the German Armed Forces Munich (as an associated partner).

The group is represented by the scientific co-spokespersons Prof. Dr. Stefan Katzenbeisser from the University of Passau and Prof. Dr. Felix Freiling from the Friedrich-Alexander University Nuremberg-Erlangen. A total of ten established scientists and two junior scientists are involved as ForDaySec project leaders and 10 research assistants.

The participating scientists also have a dense network of stakeholders in scientific and civil society institutions on the topic of IT security, in public administration and in business, with whom the research questions and results are discussed. The office at the University of Passau is the first point of contact for all inquiries and will gladly put you in touch with the right contact person at Verbund.

How is ForDaySec funded?

ForDaySec is financed by public funds from the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts. This is linked to a public mandate to strengthen research on IT security in everyday digitization throughout Bavaria and make it useful for society. For more information, see Funding.