Our
Research

Research Areas

All research in ATHENE is structured into research areas, each following a clear mission. All research area missions contribute to the the overall mission of ATHENE through a number of research and development projects.

Category according to ACM classification:

Applied computingComputer systems organizationComputing methodologiesGeneral and referenceHardwareHuman-centered computingInformation systemsMathematics of computingNetworksSecurity and privacySocial and professional topicsSoftware and its engineeringTheory of computation

Analytics Based Cyber­security (ABC)

Coordinator:
Prof. Haya Schulmann
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  • ABC New Directions
    Prof. Haya Schulmann
  • Active Cyber Defense
    Prof. Haya Schulmann
  • Control-Flow Fingerprinting for Malware Detection (CFFP)
    Prof. Haya Schulmann
    Prof. Michael Waidner
    Prof. Reiner Hähnle
  • Large-scale LDAP and S/MIME Analysis (LLAMA)
    Prof. Sebastian Schinzel
  • Research Platform Internet Cyber­security
    Prof. Haya Schulmann
  • Routing Security
    Prof. Haya Schulmann
  • SecScan
    Prof. Michael Waidner
  • Security of Critical Infrastructures
    Prof. Haya Schulmann
  • Security of Web Ecosystem (Websec)
  • Collaborative P2P Botnet Monitoring and Data-Analysis
  • Visual Analytics

Automatic Vulnerability Scanning and Verification (AVSV)

Coordinator:
Dr. Steven Arzt
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  • Cross-Language Data Flow Detection and Analysis for iOS Binaries (XDaFlowD)
    Dr. Jens Heider
  • Cross-Language Library-Aware Security Analysis of Complex Software Systems
    Prof. Mira Mezini
  • Enhanced Vulnerability Detection
    Dr. Steven Arzt
  • Foundational Models for Secure Software Development
    Prof. Mira Mezini
    Prof. Iryna Gurevych
    Prof. Kristian Kersting
  • Hybrid Fuzzing for Apps and Web Applications
    Dr. Steven Arzt
  • Visual and User-Centric Support for Verifying and Avoiding Vulnerabilities
    Prof. Jörn Kohlhammer
  • Automatic Vulnerability Scanner for Mobile Applications
  • Automatic Vulnerability Verification
  • Further development of the CogniCrypt Assistant to ensure the correct use of crypto libraries
  • Machine Learning for Vulnerability Detection
  • User-centric visualization of security problems
  • Vulnerability Detection for Hybrid Apps using Generic Analyses

Cryptography (Crypto)

Coordinator:
Prof. Marc Fischlin
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  • Cryptography and Game Theory for Decentralized Exchanges (CRYPTOECONOMICS)
    Prof. Sebastian Faust
  • Leakage Models for Masking: Bridging the gap between theory and practice (LEAK)
    Prof. Sebastian Faust
  • Oblivious Pseudorandom Functions, Revisited (OPRF)
  • PORTUNUS
    Prof. Andreas Koch
  • Quantum-Resistance of Symmetric-Key Primitives
    Prof. Marc Fischlin
  • Secure and Fast Quantum Key Distribution (SATURN)
    Prof. Marc Fischlin
    Prof. Andreas Heinemann
  • Secure Compiler and Verification Tools for Masking Schemes in the Noisy Leakage Model (CoVeriNoisy)
    Prof. Amir Moradi
    Prof. Sebastian Faust
  • Agile and Easy-to-use Integration of PQC Schemes
  • High Performance Implementations of PQC Schemes
    Dr. Fabian Ising
  • Design and Analysis of PQC Primitives
  • PQC Building Blocks for eCard Applications - Quantum-resilient PACE
    Prof. Alexander Wiesmaier

Energy

Coordinator:
Prof. Haya Schulmann
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  • Cyber­security Compliance in the Energy Sector (CybEnergy)
    Dr. Annika Selzer
  • Real-time Automated Attack Isolation for Smart Home Energy Systems (HomePPSec)
    Dr. Thorsten Henkel
  • Trustworthy Power Electronic Converters for the Secure Operation of Active Distribution Grids (TrustedPowerCon)
    Prof. Florian Steinke

Legal Aspects of Privacy and IT Security (LeAP)

Coordinator:
Dr. Annika Selzer
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  • Legal aspects of offensive cybersecurity research in dark-X environments (Dark-X)
    Dr. Annika Selzer
  • Legal framework for offensive cybersecurity research (LegRes)
    Dr. Annika Selzer
  • Privacy at Large (P@L)
    Dr. Annika Selzer
  • Systematic privacy for large, real-life data processing systems
    Dr. Annika Selzer

Next Generation Biometric Systems (NGBS)

Coordinators:
Prof. Christian Rathgeb
Prof. Christoph Busch
Prof. Naser Damer
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  • Biometric Sample Quality Assessment
    Florian Kirchbuchner, M. Sc.
    Dr. Olaf Henniger
  • Embedded Biometrics
    Florian Kirchbuchner, M. Sc.
    Prof. Naser Damer
  • Fair Biometric Systems ​
    Prof. Christoph Busch
  • Operational Challenges in Face Recognition
  • Secure Identity Management
    Florian Kirchbuchner, M. Sc.
    Prof. Naser Damer
  • Trustworthy Biometrics (TrustBio)
    Prof. Christoph Busch
    Prof. Christian Rathgeb
  • Bias and Fairness in Biometric Systems
  • Biometric Tampering Detection

Reliable and Verifiable Information through Secure Media (REVISE)

Coordinator:
Prof. Martin Steinebach
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  • Chat Control, Age Verification and Resilience for Minors (ChARM)
    Prof. Martin Steinebach
  • Cross-Domain Disinformation Analysis (CRISIS)
    Prof. Martin Steinebach
  • Deepfake REcognition and Artificial Media (DREAM)
    Prof. Martin Steinebach
  • Safeguarding LLMs against Misleading Evidence Attack (SafeLLMs)
    Prof. Iryna Gurevych
  • Trustworthy and Explainable AI-generated Text Detection (TXAITD)
    Prof. Iryna Gurevych
  • Security and Privacy in Automated OSINT (SePiA)
    Prof. Martin Steinebach

Science Shield

Coordinator:
Prof. Haya Schulmann
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    Secure Digital Transformation in Health Care (SeDiTraH)

    Coordinator:
    Prof. Jörn Kohlhammer
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    • Collecting and Sharing Distributed Medical Data of a Digital Twin - Securely, Privacy-friendly and User-centered (MeDiTwin)
      Prof. Jörn Kohlhammer
    • Privacy-Aware Domain-Adaptive Medical NLP (PADAM)
      Prof. Iryna Gurevych
    • Disinformation and Corona
      Prof. Martin Steinebach
    • Fake News and Conspiracy Theories
      Prof. Iryna Gurevych
    • JAB Codes for Secure Ad-hoc Documents
      Prof. Martin Steinebach
    • Know Your App
    • Quality Assurance of Biomedical Literature
      Prof. Iryna Gurevych
    • Security Analysis of the German Corona Warn App
      Dr. Steven Arzt
    • Secure Medical Data Sharing

    Secure Urban Infrastructures (SecUrban)

    Coordinator:
    Prof. Christian Reuter
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    • Security of Fiber-Optic Critical Infrastructures (SecFOCI)
      Prof. Christian Reuter
    • Security and Privacy of Location Systems in Urban Environments (SPLocS)
      Prof. Matthias Hollick
    • Architecture and Processes for Effective Cyber­security and Privacy Protection in Smart Cities (SecArch)
      Dr. Michael Kreutzer
    • Integrating Safety and Security Aspects in Secure Urban Infrastructures (SaSec)
    • Secure Urban Mesh Networks (Smesh)
    • Security Modelling and Si­mu­la­tion of Secure Urban Infrastructures (SeMS)
    • Security of Urban Infrastructures Against Cyberattacks (SecAttack)
    • Situation Awareness for Smart Cities (SiAware)

    Security and Privacy in Artificial Intelligence (SenPAI)

    Coordinator:
    Prof. Martin Steinebach
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    • Detecting CSAM without the Need for CSAM Training Data (DeCNeC)
      Dr. Oren Halvani
    • Forensic and OSINT Technology with Machine Learning (FROST)
      Prof. Martin Steinebach
    • LLM-Aided and Affected Authorship Verification/Attribution (LAVA)
      Dr. Oren Halvani
    • Interactive Visual Cyber Analytics for Trust and Explainability in Artificial Intelligence for Sensitive Data (VCAXAI)
      Prof. Jörn Kohlhammer
    • Protecting Privacy and Sensitive Information in Texts
      Prof. Iryna Gurevych
    • Robustness in Machine Learning (RoMa)
      Prof. Martin Steinebach
    • Security in Large Language Models (SecLLM)
      Prof. Iryna Gurevych
    • Adversarial Attacks on NLP systems
      Prof. Iryna Gurevych
    • EXplainable REinforcement Learning for Secure Intelligent Systems (XReLeaS)
    • Security and Privacy in Automated OSINT (SePiA)
      Prof. Martin Steinebach

    Trustworthy Data Ecosystems (TRUDATA)

    Coordinators:
    Prof. Carsten Binnig
    Prof. Sebastian Faust
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    • Distributed Usage and Information-Flow Control in the IoT (DUCIF)
      Prof. Heiko Mantel
    • High-Performance Analytical & Secure Query Processing for Cloud Databases (HiPeAC)
    • Model-centric Deductive Verification of Smart Contracts
      Dr. Richard Bubel
      Prof. Reiner Hähnle
    • Probabilistic Data Structures in Adversarial Environments
    • Trustworthy Decentralized Coordination and Authentication (TruDeCoA)
    • Cryptographic Primitives for Secure Decentralized Protocols
    • Distributed Ledger & Multiparty Computation
    • Encryption Meets Search
      Prof. Marc Fischlin
    • Federated Machine Learning
    • Hardware-assisted Data Protection
    • Securing Refinements of Distributed Workflows
      Prof. Heiko Mantel
    • Trusted and Scalable Shared Databases
      Prof. Carsten Binnig
    • Trusted Multiparty Computation as a Service
      Prof. Sebastian Faust
    • Trusted Utilization of Personal Data
      Prof. Mira Mezini

    User-centered Security and Privacy (UCSP)

    Coordinators:
    Prof. Andreas Heinemann
    Prof. Christian Reuter
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    • AddressIng Deceptive designs with a tech-assisted citizen science Approach (AIDA)
    • A PrIvacy companion for mOtivatioN andknowlEdge transfER (PIONEER)
      Dr. Ephraim Zimmer
      Dr. Nina Gerber
    • A Security Mechanism to Detect and MitigatePerceptual Manipulations in Extended Reality (XR-GUARD)
      Prof. Jan Gugenheimer
    • Comprehensive Probabilistic QoSec-Assessment (ComPAss)
    • User-Centered Technology Design for Cyber Situational Awareness
      Prof. Christian Reuter
    • Visualization-based Technologies as Enablers for Privacy Sovereignty Online (PriVis)
      Prof. Jörn Kohlhammer
    • Data Economy and Privacy—An International and Intercultural Perspective
    • Easy-to-use Processes and Tools for User-Centric Co-Development of PETs
    • Economics of Cyber­security (EcoSec)
    • Fingerprinting Detection and Remediation in Mobile Apps​
      Dr. Jens Heider
    • Formal QoSec for Comparison and Composition (FoCC)
    • PETs for Smart Cities in Security Situations
    • PETs in Disease-Management Programs to Reduce Health Care Costs
    • Practical Private Set Intersection for Data Protection
    • Privacy Risks and Safety in Machine Learning (PRisMa)
    • Quantitative and Probabilistic QoSec in Complex HW/SW-Systems (QPSys)
    • Technical Support for the Implementation of Requirements in Applications in Accordance with GDPR (TECHIRA)
    • Visualization of Critical Aspects for Data Analysis and Privacy

    Contact

    Prof. Michael Waidner
    Fraunhofer SIT | TU Darmstadt
    Tel.: +49 6151 869-250
    E-Mail

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