Research

ATHENE Center

until December 2025

ATHENE (former CRISP) is accompanying the digitalization of society, economy and government from the perspective of cybersecurity and privacy with application-oriented cutting-edge research and development. The research is divided into various research areas headed by coordinators. In projects assigned to these research areas, concepts, methods and technologies are being developed that sustainably improve and ensure cyber security and privacy protection across all areas of life. An interdisciplinary approach to the problems involves different sciences such as psychology, ergonomics, economics, etc.

CASED – Center for Advanced Security Research Darmstadt

July 2008 – June 2016

For more than ten years, a multifaceted research alliance with a focus on IT security has been growing in Darmstadt: at Technische Universität Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt), the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology (Fraunhofer SIT) and the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. Since July 2008, the three institutions have been bundling their competencies in the Darmstadt LOEWE Center for Advanced Security Research Darmstadt (CASED). LOEWE is an initiative to support the development and economic excellence in Hessen. The Hessian Ministry for Science and the Arts provides initial funding for this initiative, thus successfully promoting regional key aspects, especially through interconnecting science, non-university research and economy. At this alliance in Darmstadt, more than 300 scientists are doing research on current and future IT security topics. Sixteen professorships are specializing in different IT security subject areas. A total of 33 professorships from natural science, engineering, economic science and human disciplines are involved in CASED projects. This thematic diversity is unique within Europe and makes Darmstadt a popular choice among students. Technische Universität Darmstadt is offering a Master's degree in IT Security and at the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, IT Security is a major field of study in the Master's degree of Computer Sciences. Both universities cooperate in teaching. Professionals can expand their education in the T.I.S.P. seminar or a multitude of other expert workshops at Fraunhofer SIT.

CRISP – Center for Research in Security and Privacy

October 2015 – December 2018

CRISP (now ATHENE) is accompanying the digitalization of society, economy and government from the perspective of cybersecurity and privacy with application-oriented cutting-edge research and development. The research is divided into various research areas headed by coordinators. In projects assigned to these research areas, concepts, methods and technologies are being developed that sustainably improve and ensure cyber security and privacy protection across all areas of life. An interdisciplinary approach to the problems involves different sciences such as psychology, ergonomics, economics, etc.

CROSSING – Cryptography-Based Security Solutions: Enabling Trust in New and Next Generation Computing Environments (SFB 1119)

until December 2022

Our goal is to provide cryptography-based security solutions enabling trust in new and next-generation computing environments. The solutions will meet the efficiency and security requirements of the new environments and will have sound implementations. They will be easy to use for developers, administrators, and end users of IT, even if they are not cryptography experts. In CROSSING researchers from complementary areas such as cryptography, quantum physics, system and software engineering will achieve this goal in a collaborative effort.

CYSEC

since January 2015

Within the research profile topic "Cybersecurity & Privacy – Sustainable Security, Privacy and Safety", researchers at Technical University of Darmstadt study cybersecurity and privacy protection. 16 core and 4 associated research groups from six departments of TU Darmstadt are members of the research profile topic Cybersecurity: Computer Science, Physics, Biology, Human Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, Law and Economics.

Collective Resilient Unattended Smart Things (CRUST)

since December 2021

The Internet of Things (IoT) is closing the gap between the physical and digital world. It is expected to grow to tens or even hundreds of billion devices over the next decade. Ultimately it drives the vision of a ‘smart world’. Since IoT devices are networked by design, IoT deployments feature a huge attack surface, thus posing a novel risk at an unprecedented scale. This is particularly true for open and unattended IoT systems operating in physically insecure areas. Such open and unattended IoT systems can drive a number of novel applications. For instance, dense urban IoT deployments enable future digital cities, while autonomous and off-the-grid IoT deployments in the wild facilitate novel environmental or smart farming applications. However, the resilient and secure operation of unattended IoT systems is not well understood. In the proposed project Collective Resilient Unattended Smart Things (CRUST), we devise fundamental solutions to operate unattended IoT systems in a resilient and secure manner. We structure our work in three work packages (WPs). In WP1, we focus on the detection and classification of adverse events such as destroyed or manipulated sensors utilizing only the devices’ physical context. Various events are covered, irrespective of the cause of the event (intentional attack, severe weather conditions, continuous degradation, etc.). In WP2, we design a secure ultra-low latency control channel for IoT systems, which allows forming secure, collective IoT systems. We further devise enhanced autonomous security schemes for operation in unattended IoT systems by utilizing a security facilitator. Finally, in WP3 we harness the networked and collective nature of IoT systems and design collective recognition of adverse events and collective self-protection through reconfiguration and self-defense. Moreover, we validate the concepts based on collective intelligence in (existing) real-world testbeds in two representative scenarios: (i) an off-the-grid smart fence for repelling predators such as wolves from livestock and (ii) a smart streetlight deployment for smart city applications.

Cooperative, Adaptive and Responsive Monitoring in Mixed Mode Environments (GRK 1362)

January 2006 – December 2015

How can large numbers of communicating sensors with vastly different computing and communication resources, ranging from simple temperature sensors to complex vision systems, cooperate to monitor their environment? How can multiple land, water and airborne autonomous vehicles navigate and coordinate with each other and with stationary sensors and a human mission manager? How can these teams of autonomous mobile sensor platforms be used in cooperative search and rescue missions in a disaster situation? To answer these questions a variety of scientific and technological challenges must be solved, ranging from dynamic terrain recognition to the automatic recognition of human shapes, from basic questions about dependability and quality of service in the communication and middleware platforms to the coordination of teams of autonomous vehicles. These fundamental problems yield cutting edge research topics for PhD theses which cannot be considered individually. A close, interdisciplinary approach by the participating scientists of the departments of computer science, electrical engineering and information technology, and mechanical engineering is needed. An innovative supervision concept will provide both goal-oriented research and international exposure. An additional distinguishing feature is the cooperation with the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). Through the interconnection of the expertise in unmanned systems at Virginia Tech with the ones in communications and middleware in highly unstructured environments, image understanding and cooperation of teams of mobile robots at TU Darmstadt, a win-win situation results from which the PhD students of both institutions will benefit.

EC SPRIDE – European Center for Security and Privacy by Design

October 2011 – September 2015

The European Center for Security and Privacy by Design (EC SPRIDE) researches how IT developers can optimally secure software and IT systems from the very beginning – i.e. “by Design” – and throughout the entire lifecycle. The results are of relevance for pretty much every growth market: from the software industry, to the automobile and industrial engineering sectors, to utility and healthcare companies. However, there are very few standards, processes and methods that IT developers can use in order to be able to take the IT security requirements of their software into consideration from a very early stage. As a result of this, IT systems are generally not checked and made safe until after the design stage has been completed, which, in turn, results in unnecessary costs for both the manufacturers and users.

EIT Digital

January 2010 – December 2018

We embody the future of innovation by mobilizing a pan-European multi-stakeholder open-innovation ecosystem of top European corporations, SMEs, startups, universities and research institutes, where students, researchers, engineers, business developers and investors address the technology, talent, skills, business and capital needs of digital entrepreneurship. We build the next generation of digital ventures, digital products and services, and breed digital entrepreneurial talent, helping businesses and entrepreneurs to be at the frontier of digital innovation by providing them with technology, talent, and growth support. EIT Digital answers specific innovation needs by, for example, finding the right partners to bring technology to the market, supporting the scale-up of digital technology ventures, attracting talent and developing their digital knowledge and skills.

EMERGENT

June 2010 – May 2013

Unternehmen sind heute mit einer rasanten Veränderung ihres Umfelds konfrontiert. So entwickeln sich offene Marktplätze im Internet mit immer individuelleren Kundenanforderungen. Innovationen der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie (IKT) entstehen mit hoher Geschwindigkeit, und völlig neue Wertschöpfungsketten und Geschäftsmodelle entwickeln sich über Unternehmensgrenzen hinweg. Unternehmen werden angesichts dieser Veränderungen ihre wirtschaftliche Leistungsfähigkeit nur erhalten und stärken können, wenn sie einen Wandel hin zu sogenannten digitalen Unternehmen vollziehen, bei denen die IKT der entscheidende Treiber für Produkt- und Prozessinnovationen ist. Das Ziel von EMERGENT ist es, die notwendigen Vorraussetzungen für diesen Wandel zu schaffen. Dazu werden grundlegende Methoden, Techniken, Algorithmen und Datenstrukturen für emergente Software erforscht und entwickelt. Der Begriff emergente Software steht für eine neue Kategorie von innovativen Informationssystemen, die unternehmensübergreifend aus dem Zusammenspiel einzelner Komponenten und Dienste im Internet der Dinge und Dienste entstehen.

MAKI – Multi-Mechanisms Adaptation for the Future Internet (SFB 1053)

January 2013 – December 2024

The ubiquitous availability of the internet is indispensable in almost all areas of life today. In order to be able to provide networked services and applications efficiently and without disruptions, today and in the future a broad spectrum of communication mechanisms is used. As communication systems and mechanisms continue to specialize, mastering the growing diversity as an integral and easy-to-use component of future communication systems is a key challenge.

MINTS – Millimeter-wave Networking and Sensing for Beyond 5G

until December 2023

The potential of mmWave technology (30 GHz to 300 GHz, but usually also frequencies above 10 GHz are included) for future mobile networks led to a significant investment in research in the form of H2020 projects and specifically several large 5G Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects. It also motivated the European Commission to recommend opening up parts of the mmWave spectrum for broadband services. At the same time, enabling communications at mmWave frequencies remains challenging. The mmWave radio propagation behaviour is characterized by high path loss and penetration loss, which limits the native communication range of mmWave signals to a few meters. Highly directional beamforming antennas can mitigate the impact of path loss and increase the communication range, but this, in turn, requires fast and precise beam alignment, which in itself is challenging in dynamic mobile environments. Moreover, mmWave signals are easily blocked by most objects, such as walls, the human body, etc. Preliminary studies on mmWave communications and early trials have thus focused on showing the feasibility of multi-Gbps data rates in low-density scenarios with limited dynamics such as fixed point-to-point links. Products focusing on such relatively static scenarios (e.g., fixed wireless access, WLAN 802.11ad) are already available on the market. However, these products are not designed for mobile environments and may suffer from frequent connection outages due to the inefficiency of their beamforming and interference control techniques.

NICER – Networked Infrastructureless Cooperation for Emergency Response

January 2015 – December 2019

Crises, disasters and major catastrophic events are triggered by the forces of nature, human or technical failure or violence and terrorism. They present a threat to human life, public safety in the area concerned and interregional economics. Technical infrastructures are damaged or destroyed. The LOEWE research cluster NICER (Networked Infrastructureless Cooperation for Emergency Response) is exploring how infrastructureless information and communications technology can establish links between people in the event of a crisis, thus enabling them to work together to overcome the crisis.

Open6GHub – 6G for Society and Sustainability

January 2021 – July 2025

Open6GHub develops a 6G vision for sovereign citizens in a hyper-connected world from 2030. The aim of the Open6GHub is to provide contributions to a global 6G harmonization process and standard in the European context. We consider German interests in terms of our societal needs (sustainability, climate protection, data protection, resilience, ...) while maintaining the competitiveness of our companies and our technological sovereignty. Another interest is the position of Germany and Europe in the international competition for 6G. Open6GHub will contribute to the development of an overall 6G architecture, but also end-to-end solutions in the following, but not limited to, areas: advanced network topologies with highly agile organic networking, security and resilience, THz and photonic transmission methods, sensor functionalities in the network and their intelligent use, as well as processing and application-specific radio protocols.

Privacy and Trust for Mobile Users (GRK 2050)

January 2015 – December 2024

The Doctoral College “Privacy and Trust for Mobile Users” is a highly interdisciplinary collaboration between Computer Science and the fields of Law, Sociology, Information Systems (in Economics), and Usability (in Psychology) funded as Research Training Group by the German National Science Foundation (DFG). We aim at improving the position of mobile users—think of Smartphone users—vis-a-vis Internet-based services, social networks, and sensor-augmented environments (summarized as 'networks'). In the mobile users' experience, these networks and the players therein are becoming increasingly opaque while the users themselves are becoming increasingly transparent. In a multi-disciplinary effort, our Doctoral College counters these “paired trends”—transparent users and opaque networks—with the “paired goals” privacy & trust: privacy is considered as the main instrument for limiting user transparency while assessing the expected trustworthiness of players in the network is considered as the main instrument for countering the opaqueness of the network players.

SMARTER – Smartphone-based Communication Networks for Emergency Response

March 2015 – February 2018

Angesichts einer Krise oder Katastrophe haben die meisten Menschen ein starkes Bedürfnis nach Information und Kommunikation. Moderne IT-Technologien ermöglichen schneller und umfassender als in vergangenen Zeiten, diese Bedürfnisse zu erfüllen. Dies wurde in Deutschland zum Beispiel an der intensiven Nutzung Neuer Medien beim Unglück auf der Loveparade 2010 und dann bei der Hochwasserkatastrophe 2013 ersichtlich. Umso schwerer wiegt im Krisen- und Katastrophenfall ein Ausfall der Kommunikationsinfrastruktur. Keine Informationen zu erhalten und nicht kommunizieren zu können, belastet die Bevölkerung und blockiert die Organisation der Selbsthilfe. Den Behörden und Organisationen mit Sicherheitsaufgaben (BOS) bleiben zudem bei Netzausfall entscheidende Informationen über die Situation und Reaktionen der Bürgerinnen und Bürger verborgen. Auch können wichtige Hinweise, die der Bevölkerung helfen sollen, nur sehr eingeschränkt weitergegeben werden.

emergenCITY – The Resilient Digital City

January 2020 – December 2024

The LOEWE center emergenCITY, established in 2020, combines the extensive research in Hesse on resilient and crisis-proof infrastructures in digital cities. emergenCITY is an interdisciplinary and multi-site collaboration led by Technische Universität Darmstadt, Universität Kassel, and Philipps-Universität Marburg. Twenty-three professors from the fields of computer science, electrical engineering and information technology, mechanical engineering, social sciences and history, architecture, economics, and law conduct research in four interlinked program areas: City and Society, Information, Communication, and Cyber-Physical Systems.