Minister Blume welcomes the launch of the research network for more security in digital everyday life

MINISTER BLUME WELCOMES THE LAUNCH OF THE RESEARCH NETWORK FOR MORE SECURITY IN DIGITAL EVERYDAY LIFE

13.05.2022

How do IT security solutions become suitable for everyday use? Which updates are really necessary? What data does my smart home device or smart phone store and disseminate about me? On May 13, Bavaria’s Science Minister Markus Blume officially kicked off the work of the “Security in Everyday Digitization” research network (ForDaySec), which is researching answers to these urgent questions.

Passau – At a first official working meeting, the ForDaySec research association gave Bavarian Science Minister Markus Blume, retired Science Minister Bernd Sibler and other political representatives an insight into the research work planned for the next four years.

“Cybersecurity has a key role to play in our free society” emphasized Blume. “Digitization is permeating all areas of life. At the same time, the threat of criminal attacks on the digital infrastructure is growing dramatically. That is why we are funding the Bavarian research association ‘ForDaySec – Security in Everyday Digitization’ with around 3.3 million euros. This is a forward-looking investment in the functionality and competitiveness of Bavaria as a high-tech state.”

The unique selling point of “ForDaySec” is the targeted, interdisciplinary research into novel technical processes for the cyber security of private households, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and public administration. With this goal in mind, “ForDaySec” is researching not only solutions for increasing security for hardware and software, but also special security concepts that should be easy to implement without special knowledge and at the same time take into account the aspects of technical data protection. The research also includes legal studies on update obligations and sociological studies on the use of technology in everyday practice.

Five universities in Bavaria are involved in the joint project with eight subprojects. Here, computer scientists, sociologists and legal scholars, among others, work together and research how cybersecurity can be anchored in the breadth of society. The Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts is funding the network with 3.3 million euros over a period of four years.

“We see ourselves as a nucleus for answers to complex IT security challenges that can be implemented in everyday life. To safeguard everyday digitization, we want to lower the barriers to using IT security techniques. It is precisely through our interdisciplinary approach that we will generate new knowledge to solve socially relevant problems,” says Stefan Katzenbeisser, spokesperson for the ForDaySec research network and Professor of Computer Engineering at the University of Passau.

The University of Passau is involved as a host university with three subprojects. Prof. Dr. Stefan Katzenbeisser is investigating how vulnerable immutable terminals can be subsequently encapsulated and monitored. Prof. Dr. Joachim Posegga and Dr. Henrich C. Pöhls are researching how devices of the so-called Internet of Things can be securely integrated into home and corporate networks using encryption techniques. Prof. Dr. Thomas Riehm examines update obligations and rights of software manufacturers and distributors.

Prof. Dr. Claudia Eckert of the Technical University of Munich is investigating how insecure Internet of Things devices can be integrated into secure corporate infrastructures without risk.

The Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg has two participating subprojects. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Felix Freiling and Dr. habil. Zinaida Benenson are creating a technical privacy analysis of app-controlled Internet of Things devices. In another subproject, Prof. Dr. Sabine Pfeiffer is investigating the everyday practices of users, their competence in dealing with everyday digital devices, and their institutional and organizational embedding.

At the Otto-Friedrich-University of Bamberg, the subproject of Prof. Dr. Dominik Herrmann investigates how the data protection competence of software developers can be strengthened by means of software components and training environments with a focus on usability and explainability.

The University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich is an associated partner of the network. Prof. Dr. Johannes Kinder is researching how firmware components can be hardened without the support of the manufacturer.

Download the press release

Scientific contact

Prof. Dr. Stefan Katzenbeisser
Spokesman of the network
Email: Stefan.Katzenbeisser@uni-passau.de
Phone: +49 (0) 851 509-3040

Press contact

Florian Rummler
Network organizer in the office
Email: Florian.Rummler@uni-passau.de
Phone: +49 (0) 821 598-4891

About the Bavarian research association
“Security in Everyday Digitization” (ForDaySec).