“The real world has problems, but universities have departments.”
CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES
The much quoted statement by Gerry D. Brewer in his 1999 article “The Challenges of Interdisciplinarity” is (unfortunately) still relevant: “The real world has problems, but universities have departments.”
Exchange, cooperation, and collaboration across disciplinary boundaries, as envisioned in ForDaySec, therefore needs meaningful common questions to address the complex problem of security in everyday digitization.
In addition to the questions of content, the different terminologies, methods and fundamental scientific attitudes must be mutually understood and reconciled in the interdisciplinary work.
The ForDaySec research association has set itself four network-wide topics, so-called cross-cutting topics, which require all disciplinary perspectives to be addressed.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Security Show Case
A secure system performs its service “normally” in everyday digital life. Only an absence of sufficient security functions is noticed by users. The Security Show Case uses prototypes to demonstrate the problem and how everyday life can be made more secure.
4. Everyday Social Practices
Cross-cutting issue 4 deals on different levels with 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.