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Security With an In-Built Vulnerability
Secret services want to know as much as possible. For example, they try to circumvent data encryption. This can cause collateral damage, warn Bochum researchers.
Intentional vulnerabilities in encryption algorithms seem tempting to secret services and law enforcement agencies alike – after all, they allow supposedly secure information to be read. Professor Gregor Leander and Dr. Christof Beierle from the Symmetric Cryptography group and Dr. David Rupprecht from the Chair for System Security discuss the sense and nonsense of such backdoors and describe a very long-lasting example of such a gap. Together with international colleagues, they showed that current smartphones still have the insecure mobile phone encryption GEA-1 installed. It has been around since the 1990s, and according to mobile phone standards, it should have disappeared in 2013.
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Register now: Computer Science Day 2023
On February 8, 2023, we will celebrate the 3rd Computer Science Day. The networking event cordially invites all interested parties, RUB members, partners of the faculty and of course faculty members to devote an afternoon entirely to computer science.
Researchers from the faculty present the latest state of their research in an entertaining and understandable way in engaging short lectures. In the subsequent get-together, you can exchange ideas with the speakers and other participants, network and discover points of intersection with your field of interest.
Program and registration
New Emmy Noether Group Aims to Make Hardware Chips Provable Secure
Dr. Pascal Sasdrich (Chair of Security Engineering) will be funded by the DFG with 1.3 million euros for his project CAVE.
In 2023, the German Research Foundation (DFG) funds a new Emmy Noether group in the field of IT security at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Dr. Pascal Sasdrich, Chair of Security Engineering/Faculty of Computer Science is the research group leader. With his project “COMPUTER-AIDED VERIFICATION OF PHYSICAL SECURITY PROPERTIES“, CAVE for short, he wants to advance the protection of security-critical implementations, such as those used in hardware chips, against physical attacks. Within the Emmy-Noether program, CAVE is funded with 1.3 million euros over six years, which qualifies for a university professorship.
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Inaugural Lecture with Prof. Dr. Robert Schmidt on February 01, 2023
The Faculty of Computer Science cordially invites all interested parties to Prof. Dr. Robert Schmidt’s inaugural lecture “Neural data science: model-based approaches to understand cognitive control”.
Schmidt has been Professor of Neural Data Science at the Faculty of Computer Science and the Institute of Neuroinformatics since September 2022. His research is dedicated to the neural mechanisms of cognitive functions. In doing so, he draws on analysis and computational modeling techniques, such as machine learning.
When? February 01,2023, 2-3 PM, get together afterwards
Where? Open Space of the Faculty of Computer Science (building MC, ground floor)
Abstract and registration
Vacant position: Professorship for System Security (m/f/d)
Open Rank: Tenured W3 or W2 Tenure Track / W1 Tenure Track. At the Faculty of Computer Science of the Ruhr-University Bochum a position for a professorship for system security is available as soon as possible.
The Ruhr-Universität Bochum is one of Germany’s leading research universities, addressing the whole range of academic disciplines. A highly dynamic setting enables researchers and students to work across the traditional boundaries of academic subjects and faculties. To create knowledge networks within and beyond the university is Ruhr-Universität Bochum ’s declared aim.
Read the job advertisement
Intelligent apes
Researchers from Bochum find security vulnerabilities in IT systems particularly quickly. Their trick is to concentrate on the essentials. They explain their approach with the help of the theorem of the endlessly typing apes.
Program code is a bit like a jungle: complex in structure, difficult to see from the outside, with countless possible paths to take through it. Finding vulnerabilities in such code is like looking for animals among the trees in the jungle: You know they're there, but you can't see them directly. Doctoral student Tobias Scharnowski is therefore developing new methods to efficiently detect programming errors in the jungle of ones and zeros. He is conducting research at the Chair of System Security at the Horst Görtz Institute at Ruhr University Bochum, supervised by Prof. Dr. Thorsten Holz.
Security and Privacy on PDF Documents" project starts in October 2023
The project is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) for three years
The Portable Document Format, commonly known as PDF, is considered the standard for document exchange worldwide. Private individuals, companies and government organizations use it everywhere. The format is correspondingly attractive as a target for cyberattacks and information theft. In their project “Security and Privacy on PDF Documents”, Dr.-Ing. Christian Mainka and Dr.-Ing. Vladislav Mladenov from the Chair of Network and Data Security are analyzing the security of PDF documents, particularly with regard to the use & detection of PDF malware, manipulation of digitally signed PDFs and privacy leaks. The goal is to identify vulnerabilities and develop concrete countermeasures. The project is funded by the DFG for three years with a volume of approximately 666,000 euros.
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Inaugural Lecture With Amir Moradi on December 14, 2022
The Faculty of Computer Science cordially invites all interested parties to attend Prof. Amir Moradi's inaugural lecture "Simply Secure: Tools for Automated Generation and Evaluation of Protected Hardware". Moradi is a newly appointed Professor of Implementation Security since August 2022, and his research is primarily focused on automated fabrication of protected hardware and software designs. His research topics include Implementation Security, Side-Channel Analysis and Countermeasures, Fault-Injection Attacks and Countermeasures, Efficient Implementation of Cryptographic Primitives and Applied Cryptography.
Register here
HGI Team Wins 1st Place in the 9th German IT Security Award
David Knichel, Amir Moradi, Nicolai Müller, and Pascal Sasdrich convinced the jury with their concept and win 100,000 euros in prize money.
Yesterday, Thursday, 10.11.2022, the winners of the 9th German IT Security Award were selected in Bochum. The first prize of 100,000 euros was awarded to the concept "Simply Secure: A Toolbox for Automated Generation and Evaluation of Protected Hardware" by HGI scientists David Knichel, Amir Moradi, Nicolai Müller, and Pascal Sasdrich. Second place went to the team "Morphing Attack Detection (MAD)" by Christoph Busch, Christian Rathgeb, Ulrich Scherhag, Daniel Fischer, Siri Lorenz, and Juan Tapia. They were awarded 40,000 euros for their work. The concept "Carbyne Stack - An Open Source Secure Multiparty Computation Cloud Platform" by Sven Trieflinger, Sebastian Becker, Vadim Raskin, Volker Suschke, Vincent Rieder, Jared Weinfurtner and Hanna Modica won 20,000 euros for the third place. The German IT Security Award was founded in 2006 by the Horst Görtz Foundation and is one of the most prestigious awards in the industry.
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Kevin Borgolte is one of the winners of the RUBeL competition 5x5000
Prof. Kevin Borgolte was awarded in the 30th RUBeL 5x5000 competition and receives 5000 € to further improve his lecture "Program Analysis". The RUB e-learning team awards five innovative teaching projects every semester, this year the competition was themed "Let the campus blossom - promote diversity, sustainability & innovation with e-learning". In the lecture Program Analysis, based on the project "Practical Program Analysis Leveraging Automatic Grading and Following Open Source Best Practices", students get to know techniques and tools of program analysis practically and develop, implement, evaluate and improve their own program analysis techniques. We congratulate Dr. Leonie Selbach on the successful defense of her dissertation "Constrained Decomposition Algorithms - Analysis and Application in Tissue Microdissection". The doctoral thesis was carried out in a cooperation of the Chair of Theoretical Computer Science of the Faculty of Computer Science, the Bioinformatics Working Group of the Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology and the Center for Protein Diagnostics (ProDi). Selbach was supervised by Prof. Maike Buchin (Faculty of Computer Science) and Prof. Axel Mosig (Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology). The disputation took place on September 28, 2022.
Successful doctorate of Leonie Selbach
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Invitation to the 9th German IT Security Award Ceremony at the RUB
The award ceremony take place on November, 10, from 4.30 pm, at the Convention Center.
he Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security cordially invites you to the award ceremony of the 9th German IT Security Award at the Ruhr University Bochum on November 10. The event will be accompanied by the Bitkom Cybersecurity Innovation Conference (hybrid/online). Patron of the event is the Federal Minister of the Interior and Home Affairs, Nancy Faeser.
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The Dagstuhl Seminar "Power and Energy-aware Computing on Heterogeneous Systems" (PEACHES) investigated the relationship between data processing and energy consumption.
Prof. Timo Hönig is co-organizer of the Dagstuhl Seminar 22341 “Power and Energy-aware Computing on Heterogeneous Systems”, in short PEACHES, which took place at Dagstuhl Castle from August 21 to 26, 2022. Together with colleagues from the University of Melbourne, the University of Bristol and the University of Pittsburg, a five-day program was set up to investigate the impact of computing on the overall picture of energy consumption and the role of computing in reducing CO2 emissions and accelerating the energy transition.
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Talk: Cache Attacks and the Computational Power of Side Channels
On Wednesday, October 26, the talk "Cache Attacks and the Computational Power of Side Channels" held by Yuval Yarom (University of Adelaide) takes place from 12 pm to 1 pm in MC 1.30/1.31. Interested scientists are warmly welcome to listen to the talk. After that there will be lunch together in Rote Bete.
Abstract: Cache attacks exploit the timing difference between cache hits and cache misses to leak sensitive information. Over the last two decades, significant research effort has been invested into designing cache attacks. This has resulted in multiple breaches to software security, including cryptographic code, machine learning models, databases, and others.
In this presentation we take a different look at cache attacks. Instead of aiming to leak information, we investigate the ability to perform computation with cache attack. We develop new primitives for cache manipulation, and show that these primitives are Turing complete. Thus, we demonstrate that cache attacks allow arbitrary computation in the cache. Finally, to show the real-world impact of this result, we use our primitives to bypass common countermeasures for cache attacks.
Shielded Data Processing in the Cloud
Using cloud services without running into trouble with the GDPR – the company Edgeless Systems makes it possible. Founder Dr. Felix Schuster reflects on the somewhat difficult entry into a new market.
It was just the two of them on a park bench – this is how Felix Schuster and Thomas Tendyck celebrated the launch of their company Edgeless Systems in the spring of 2020 during the coronavirus lockdown. A good two years later, they have a team of 15, high-profile customers and a prestigious company headquarters in Bochum. Still, the start was not always easy, as Felix Schuster recounts in an interview.
Read the interview
Taking IT security out of the nerdy corner - Project DigiFit
IT security should be understandable for everyone and easy to integrate into daily routines to make it work.
How convenient that more and more things can be done online - and how annoying that you have to deal with attacks by cybercriminals in the process. Many users make it too easy for them through their behavior. Making it harder for them is the goal of the project "Digital Fitness for Citizens - Realistic Risk Perception, Secure Routines," or DigiFit for short. Coordinated by Prof. Dr. Angela Sasse, a specialist in human-centered security at RUB, the consortium aims to make IT security easier to understand and easier to implement. The project will be funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research for three years starting in September 2022 with around 2 million euros.
Read further (German)
Get to know us at the Digital University Days
Not sure if an IT degree is the right thing for you and need more information? On December 15, our student advisory service will offer exciting insights into our three bachelor's degree programs Applied Computer Science, Computer Science and IT Security as part of the RUB Digital University Days.
Here you can learn why studying IT is a good idea, how the degree programs differ and get all your questions answered. The Digital University Days take place online, so you can immerse yourself in the world of IT studies from the comfort of your own home.
Information & Registration
Save the Date: IT.Connect 2022 will take place on November 8 and 9
After a successful premiere in 2021, the second edition of the company contact fair IT.Connect will take place on November 8 and 9. The job fair is aimed at all students, doctoral researchers and alumni who are interested in a career in applied computer science and informatics.
Look forward to:
✓ more than 30 companies – from start-ups to medium-sized companies and public authorities to corporations from the IT sector
✓ concrete offers for internships, theses, part-time jobs and career entry
✓ Trade Fair Warm-up: Using Company Trade Fairs Correctly - A Training of the Career Services of the RUB
✓many interesting conversations in a relaxed setting
✓ delicious catering
You can find all current information on the event website
Call for applications for a new professorship "AI Safety and Security"
The German Aerospace Center e.V. (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.) and the Faculty of Computer Science will conduct more intensive research into the role of security and privacy in artificial intelligence and are jointly establishing the W3 professorship “AI Safety and Security”. The position holder is expected to assume the post of Director of the Institute for AI Safety at DLR. We are looking forward to receiving applications from suitable candidates, application is possible until October 31, 2022.
Veranstaltungsreihe "thinking-out-of-the-box" erhält Förderung im Rahmen des Lore-Agnes-Programms
Wieso ist Gendersensible Lehre insbesondere im MINT-Bereich ein wichtiger Beitrag? Die vom Rektorat der RUB im Rahmen des Lore Agnes Programms geförderte Veranstaltungsreihe „thinking-out-of-the-box“ – geschlechtersensible Lehre an der RUB, gibt ab Dezember 2022 Antworten auf diese Frage.
Die Fakultät für Informatik und das Zentrum für Wissenschaftsdidaktik laden gemeinsam zu fünf praxisorientierten Veranstaltungen mit unterschiedlichen Referent*innen ein, mit dem Ziel, Lehrende bei der Entwicklung von Genderkompetenzen in ihrer Lehre zu unterstützen. Dabei werden explizit MINT-Lehrende adressiert, fachgebundene Herausforderungen in der Genderdidaktik zu erkennen und aufzugreifen.
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Successful doctorate
We congratulate Dr. Lars Schlieper on the successful defense of his dissertation “Quantum Cryptanalysis with Minimal Amount of Qubits” and thus on his completed doctoral degree. Schlieper was supervised by Prof. Alexander May and Prof. Gregor Leander within the Cluster of Excellence CASA – Cyber Security in the Age of Large-Scale Adversaries. The disputation took place on Friday, August 12, 2022.
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CASA Distinguished Partner Program: Dialogues on Human-Computer Interaction
From July 8 to August 15, the internationally known Professor Roy Maxion from Carnegie Mellon University is visiting the Cluster of Excellence CASA - Cyber Security in the Age of Large-Scale Adversaries at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB). His research includes Human-Computer Interaction, Machine Learning, Security and Privacy, Reliability and Research Methods. During his stay in Bochum, he is working intensively with Prof. Dr. Angela Sasse and other researchers from HUB D – Usability as part of the cluster's "Distinguished Partner" program. Besides the in-depth scientific exchange and discussions about current research topics and projects, a special highlight of his time in Bochum will be his Distinguished Lecture on August 9.
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Amir Moradi fills new professorship for Implementation Security
Since August 2022, Amir Moradi is the new Professor of Implementation Security at the Faculty of Computer Science. The research focus of his group is on the security of implementation of cryptographic primitives. “Digital logic circuits are the foundation of the digital revolution, and their integration into our lives implies their access to citizens’ private and secret data. Cryptography is obviously a key point to address such concerns, but it is unfortunately not adequate to protect the date which is stored in and processed by a circuit, since physical characteristics and behavior of a circuit has a direct relation to its activities,” he explains
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"Having a passion for IT doesn't necessarily mean spending all day in front of a computer."
Taking responsibility, boosting motivation and maintaining passion – mindsquare AG lives its values and sponsors a Deutschlandstipendium at our faculty. In the interview, HR Director Timm Funke talks about future topics in IT, breaks with prejudices and gives tips for entering the IT industry.
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"Nachgehackt - the podcast on IT security" is now on air
Our lives are becoming increasingly digital - and the topic of IT security is therefore becoming more and more important. The new format "Nachgehackt - der Podcast zu IT-Security", produced at Ruhr-Universität Bochum, aims to raise awareness, inform and provide tips for digital practice. The first episode is now available.
IT security concerns everyone. But many people are still put off by the topic. They often say it's all too complex, too complicated, too incomprehensible. The "Nachgehackt" format wants to change that. In the podcast, topics and areas related to IT security are presented in an easily accessible and entertaining way. The host Henrik Hanses interviews experts and other exciting guests and explores the world of IT security together with the listeners. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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"I have learned a lot about IT Security" – Interview with Visiting Studentin Brenna Cheney
In this interview, student Brenna Cheney (20) from Georgia, USA, talks about her visiting studies at the Department of Human-Centred Security (Prof. Angela Sasse).
Going abroad - but where? That was the question 20-year-old Brenna Cheney faced last year. The California native is studying neuroscience and biomedical engineering in Georgia. So, she set out to find interesting opportunities that could enhance her studies. A few searches and emails later, she came in contact with Marco Gutfleisch, a Ph.D. from Bochum, Germany, who is doing his Ph.D. at the Chair of Human-Centred Security and is part of the Cluster of Excellence CASA. With enrichment funding from Georgia Tech Stamps President’s Scholars program, she is now spending the summer semester at RUB. She will be here from May to August 2022.
Read the whole interview
Future-Proof Data Encryption
RUB security researchers win worldwide NIST standardization process for post-quantum cryptography. This means that encryption methods developed in Bochum, which even quantum computers cannot crack, will become standard in the USA..
Secure encrypted communication is the basis for a global connected mobile world. However, the closer quantum computers, ultra-powerful computers, come to a realistic reach, the more tangible the risks to IT security become. The American National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has recognized these risks posed by quantum computers for secure data encryption and started a process to standardize quantum computer-resistant cryptographic methods in 2016 already.
Research groups from all over the world submitted concepts for new encryption methods, and 15 methods made it to the finals of the competition. Three out of four of the now finally accepted submissions were developed by researchers from the Cluster of Excellence CASA "Cyber Security in the Age of Large-Scale Adversaries" at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB), which has the goal of enabling sustainable IT security against large-scale, adversaries, in particular nation-state attackers. In doing so, they gained a worldwide recognized standardization competition that will significantly influence the quantum computer-resistant encryption methods of the future.
To the press release
More effective operation should make machine learning affordable
Large, self-learning networks are too expensive for university researchers to investigate. Anand Subramoney is developing algorithms that enable more economical operations.
Self-learning (deep learning) computer systems are modeled on the neural networks of the brain. They process very large amounts of data and require a correspondingly large amount of energy. "It costs several million euros to train such systems to do the things they are supposed to help with later," explains Dr. Anand Subramoney from the Institut für Neuroinformatik at RUB. With the help of the "KI-Starter" funding program of the Ministry of Culture and Science of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the young researcher wants to develop learning algorithms that will enable such systems to function in a more energy-efficient and cost-effective manner.
To the article (German)
The RUB research group "Scenarios of the Past" will continue to receive funding.
How the past is created in our minds
The past is not simply retrieved from memory, but is partly constructed during the process of remembering. This concept underlies the research group 2812 "Scenarios of the Past: A New Theoretical Framework for Generative Episodic Memory". The group, led by Prof. Dr. Sen Cheng from the Institut für Neuroinformatik at RUB, will continue to be funded by the German Research Foundation for the next three years.
To the article (German)
Opening: Professorship for Fairness and Transparency (W3 or W2 tenure track W3)
A professorship in Fairness and Transparency is available for the Research Center Trustworthy Data Science and Security (RC Trust) at the Faculty of Computer Science.
Associate or Full Professorship for Fairness and Transparency (Open Rank)
We welcome applicants with a strong interest in interdisciplinary research. Candidates should have an excellent track record in at least one of the following areas:
- Trustworthy Machine Learning for Privacy & Security
- FAccT (Fairness, Accountability, Transparency)
- Technology Policy, Privacy Law & Data Science
- Ethics & AI
- Human-AI Collaborative Decision Making.
More information
Opening: Professorship for Computing and Society (W3 or W2 tenure track W3)
A professorship in Computing and Society is available at the Faculty of Computer Science for the Research Center Trustworthy Data Science and Security (RC Trust).
Associate or Full Professorship for Computing and Society (Open Rank)
We welcome applicants with a strong interest in interdisciplinary research. Candidates should have an excellent track record in at least one of the following areas:
- Computational Social Science
- Social Computing and Computing Mediated Collaborative Work
- Economics & Incentives in Computing and Privacy
- Usable Security.
More information
Theory Colloquium
The Theory Colloquium is jointly organized by the Faculty of Computer Science and the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy. The talks in the series highlight exciting areas of current theoretical computer science research; familiarity with the topics is not assumed.
The planned series of events will be kicked off by Prof. Dr. Bürgisser (TU Berlin) on June 15, 2022 at 12 pm with the lecture "Complexity of computing complex zeros of structured polynomial systems". All interested parties are cordially invited!
More information
Michael Walter awarded with ERC Starting Grant
Michael Walter combines research areas that at first glance have little to do with each other - from algebra to quantum computing.
In his search for fast algorithms, computer scientist Prof. Dr. Michael Walter has discovered surprising similarities: A whole series of research problems that seem to have little to do with each other can be traced back to symmetries and optimization problems.In the ERC project, he wants to systematically explore these observations.
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Inaugural lecture Kevin Borgolte
The Faculty of Computer Science cordially invites you to Kevin Borgolte's inaugural lecture "Trustworthy and Secure Software on the Internet?!". Since May 2021, Borgolte holds the professorship for Software Security at our faculty. In his inaugural lecture, he will introduce himself and his research on detecting vulnerabilities and attacks, protecting users and applications (from each other), assessing the impact of software and network protocols on security, privacy, and trustworthiness, and analyzing their use in practice.
When? 22nd of June 2022, 2-3 PM with get-together afterwards
Where? Open Space (ground floor) of the building MC
Abstract and registration
For prospective students: Open house at the Faculty of Computer Science
You are about to make one of the most important decisions of your life - choosing your field of study. And making this decision is not that easy, that's why we want to support you:
We kindly invite you to our campus on June 13th from 11 AM to get to know our faculty. You are still undecided what you want to study? Then we have good reasons why you can shape the world of tomorrow with an IT degree! Or do you already know that you would like to study something related to IT? Then we would be happy to provide you with more information about our degree programs and help you find the right fit for you.
Programme and registration
Inaugural lecture Ghassan Karame
The Faculty of Computer Science cordially invites all its members and all those interested to Ghassan Karame’s inaugural lecture „Reflections on a Decade of Blockchain Security Research“. Karame joined our faculty in November 2021 as a professor for Information Security. In his inaugural lecture he will introduce himself and give an overview abot his resarch interests, in particular an overview about security challenges pertaining to existing blockchains which will summarize almost a decade of research on modern blockchain plattforms.
When? 14th June 2022, 2-3 PM with get-together afterwards
Where? Open Space (ground floor) of the building MC
Abstract and registration
Save the Date!
22nd June 2022: Inaugural lecture Kevin Borgolte (Software Security)
Openings: Professorships in Computer Science (W3 and W2 tenure-track W3)
The newly established Faculty of Computer Science has several tenure-track or tenured openings. The positions are part of a concerted effort to strengthen the existing faculty and to foster collaborations with the recently established Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy (MPI-SP). We welcome outstanding applicants from all areas of computer science, including but not limited to:
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e-Hacking: Dr. Vladislav Mladenov and Dr. Christian Mainka were awarded for innovative teaching
With the e-Hacking platform, students are given the opportunity to try out the practical handling of hacker attacks in a protected environment - both in online lectures and in face-to-face events. The platform will be used primarily in the Message-Level-Security lecture.
For this innovative teaching concept, Dr. Mladenov and Dr. Mainka were awarded a prize in the 5x5000 competition of the RUB E-Learning Team and will receive a grant of 5000 euros for their project.
To the news article (German)
ERC Advanced Grant for Prof. Dr. Eike Kiltz
Practical applications are often complex and mathematically messy – which is why theoretical research has often dealt with problems that have nothing to do with real-world situations. Eike Kiltz hopes to change that.
Cryptography plays a crucial role in modern IT security. And yet, basic research has primarily focused on purely theoretical problems of little practical relevance. “Many significant cryptography problems from the real world have been neglected in the process,” says Professor Eike Kiltz from the Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. His aim is to narrow the gap between theory and practice in cryptography. The European Research Council ERC is funding his research with an Advanced Grant, worth 2.5 million euros for five years. The project is expected to start in autumn 2022.
Full article
picture: Caroline Schreer
Inaugural lecture Alena Naiakshina
The Faculty of Computer Science cordially invites you to Alena Naiakshina's inaugural lecture "Don't Blame Developers! Examining a Password-Storage Study Conducted with Students, Freelancers, and Company Developers". Since November 2021, Naiakshina is a professor for Developer Centered Security and investigates the behaviour of software developers in regard to IT security.
When? 25th May, 2PM
Where? Open Space of the Faculty of Computer Science (building MC, room 0.34)
Abstract and registration
Save the Date!
14th of June, 2022: Inaugural lecture Ghassan Karame (Information Security)
22nd June, 2022: Inaugural lecture Kevin Borgolte (Software Security)
Student elections: Faculty Council and Senate
On June 14, 2022, the election of students for their representatives in the respective faculty councils and the RUB Senate will take place at RUB. All enrolled students of the faculty can elect their representatives for the term from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023 and thus actively participate in the processes and life of the faculty and the RUB. Voting will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the kitchen in front of the rooms of the student councils (0.66) in building MC.
All information and proposals
Information event of the examination office and student advisory service on May 23rd
The founding and establishment of our faculty brings with it some new developments and processes. Of course, these also affect you students. In a digital information event on Monday, May 23, 2022 at 8:30 a.m., we would like to introduce you to important structures and people of the faculty, especially the Dean's Office with the staff of the Examination Office and the Student Advisory Service/Program Coordinators. We are looking forward to your input so we can establish an efficient and service-oriented student service!
Zoom link (Meeting-ID: 623 8474 5634, Password: 905999)
"Today, I am very happy with my decision to have studied at RUB"
Kevin Kloft is a graduate of the RUB and now works as a Security Solutions Architect at the cybersecurity consulting boutique carmasec in Cologne. In this interview, he talks about his time as a student, the path to his first job, and his current focus areas.
Not only does he give tips on how to write your thesis and explain what his first steps after graduation looked like, but he also paints a detailed picture of his job as a Security Solutions Architect.
Read the full interview (German)
RuhrSec celebrates its comeback
After a two-year break from Corona, the English-language non-profit IT security conference RuhrSec took place again on May 5 as part of the eurobits Security Summit 2022. About 100 interested people from science and industry filled the event center of the RUB with life and followed the expert presentations.
RuhrSec is organized by the start-up Hackmanit, whose founding team includes Prof. Jörg Schwenk and Dr. Christian Mainka from the Chair of Network and Data Security.
To the event website
Students organize lectures and collect donations
An informative program on the Ukraine war and a joint fundraising campaign with the German Red Cross are scheduled for the end of April 2022 on the RUB campus.
14 RUB students from seven faculties have joined forces to put on a solidarity event in response to the war in Ukraine. On April 25, 27, and 28, 2022, lectures will take place in lecture hall HID and via livestream, each from 5 to 8 p.m. (admission from 4:30 p.m.). Experts from a variety of disciplines, from cybersecurity to historiography, will highlight different aspects of the war. Participation is free of charge. A snack will be provided.
To the program
Register now for ITS.Connect 2022!
Those, who want to prepare for the job fair can have a look at ourjob board which will be updated constantly. The RUB Career Service is also offering the digital warm-up event "Use company fairs correctly" on April 29. Here you can find out how to get the best out of ITS.Connect, leave a lasting impression on companies and how you can stay in touch with exciting companies after the trade fair. If you would like to take part in the trade fair training, simply tick the appropriate box when registering for ITS.Connect!
I want to participate!
Searching for a (student) job? Our new job board is online
If you are looking for an IT job, you don't have to look far with us: in preparation for the job fair for IT security ITS.Connect, which will take place on May 3, 2022, we have relaunched the faculty's own job exchange. Students and alumni of applied computer science, computer science and IT security will find current offers for internships, part-time jobs or permanent positions at the companies participating in the fair. The ads will soon also be bookable for all companies.
Those who would like to get to know the companies personally have the opportunity to do so at ITS.Connect. Open questions can also be clarified. The trade fair training provided by the Career Service ensures optimal preparation for the trade fair, so that nothing stands in the way of your dream job.
Tip: By clicking on the headings, the job offers can be sorted by company, area or type of employment.
Find your dream job here
Information regarding ITS.Connect
From Bochum to the Wide World: An Artwork Starts its Journey
At the end of the art-science residency RE:SEARCHING IT SECURITY, Marco Barotti will present his artwork APES on the RUB campus - before it starts its journey to international art festivals directly afterwards.
An extraordinary project ends with a festive closing: On Thursday, April 28, the final artwork will be presented, which the media artist Marco Barotti has created in the course of the art-science residency RE:SEARCHING IT SECURITY in the past months. In the fall of last year, he submitted the initial idea for his project entitled APES as part of an open call and succeeded against 16 other artists from all over the world.
Registration for participating in the event
The application phase for the Deutschlandstipendium starts on April 5
From April 5 to May 12, 2022, students have the chance to apply for a Deutschlandstipendium (scholarship)!
The scholarship amounts to 300 euros per month for two semesters. In addition to the financial grant, scholarship holders are given the opportunity to come into direct contact with the sponsoring company and can thus expand their professional network.
Who can apply? In principle, all students of the Faculty of Computer Science can apply for a scholarship. In addition to good academic performance and social commitment, other factors such as special personal and familial circumstances or belonging to a group that is underrepresented at the faculty and in the IT industry are also taken into account in the evaluation, so take your chance!
Informiere Dich über das Deutschlandstipendium
Directly to the application form (available from April 5)
Register for the Tandem.MINT language learning program by April 10
The Tandem language learning program Tandem.MINT offers students of STEM disciplines (Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Math) an individual and specialized approach to expand their foreign language skills. Working together with a tandem partner from a similar field of study, you can test and improve your subject-specific as well as your general language proficiency and skills in intercultural communication.
Applications are still possible until April 10.
Tandem will be hybrid next semester, which will continue to make state and university boundaries secondary. Students will have the choice of meeting in person or online, and the introductory session will continue to be held online. Since the winter semester of 20/21, we have successfully partnered with Virginia Tech from the U.S., which we will continue this semester to give even more students the opportunity to expand their language skills with English-speaking participants. The tandem will be offered in the certificate variant this semester; however, it is again possible to receive 3 CPs for participation, which will be awarded through the ZFA.
All Information
Save the Date - ITS.Connect celebrates its comeback on May 3 at the Convention Centre
Good news at the start of spring: The company contact fair specializing in IT security will in all likelihood be held again as a live event at the RUB Convention Centre on May 3, 2022.
Participants can look forward to more than 40 companies from the IT security industry, including start-ups, medium-sized companies, public authorities and corporations. ITS.Connect is the ideal event for all IT security students who are looking for internships, theses with a practical focus, part-time jobs or entry-level positions. The fair is also ideal for all those who would like to exchange experiences and make contacts with employees from the IT security departments of the companies. The established company contact fair takes place this year in its 14th edition and thrives on its relaxed atmosphere - meanwhile even RUB alumni participate with their businesses.
The week from May 2 to 5 in Bochum is all about IT security: ITS.Connect is embedded in the various offerings of the eurobits Security Summit.
Keep track of all the latest info!
Alumni Angel Meetup on the occasion of ITS.Connect on May 3
The Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security invites alumni, students and young founders in cooperation with the startup incubator Cube 5 to the first Alumni Angel Meetup.
In addition to exciting presentations by Dr. Axel York Poschmann (Executive Director xen1thLabs and RUB alumni) and Prof. Dr. Ghasssan Karame (Faculty of Computer Science, RUB), a digital speed dating event lasting approximately one hour offers all participants the opportunity to meet again, get to know each other and network. Here, memories, experiences or expertise can be exchanged in a digital format, business models can be presented and investors and advisors for startup companies can be found. The event will take place as part of ITS.Connect and the eurobits Security Summit as a hybrid event.
Have a look at the program
Pilot Project for the Ruhr Area: Cyber Defense for Medium-Sized Businesses
eurobits wants to provide more support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the fight against cyber attacks. On March 22, the Bochum-based European Competence Center for IT Security is launching the pilot project for the first cyber defense in the region so that SMEs, which are often inadequately protected, can get help as quickly as possible after a hacker attack has occurred. The digital rescue service will start in the three Ruhr area cities of Bochum, Essen and Gelsenkirchen and can be reached on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. under the free emergency number 0800-1191112. If the project is successful, the Cyberwehr plans to expand its operations to other cities in the Ruhr region as early as next year. After that, other regions in NRW could also gradually follow. The pilot project is being funded 80 percent by the state and the EU, with the rest coming from the association and sponsors.
See press release (in German)
To the Cyberwehr webpage
"It's always an asset to the science community when it's diverse."
March 8 is International Women's Day, a day to honor the achievements of women*, raise awareness of bias, and advocate for equality! In 2022, it is themed "Break the Bias", a motto that is especially significant for computer science. We appreciate all faculty members who fight prejudice and bias every day and actively shape the image of modern computer science.
Professor Maike Buchin reports on the importance of a diverse community in science and the hurdles that still stand in the way in an interview with Deutschlandfunk on February 11, 2022.
Listen now (in German)!
*By possibly mentioning gender-assigning attributes, we imply all who feel they belong to that gender, regardless of biological sex.
Michael Walter joins as W3 Professor of Quantum Information
Since January 2022, Michael Walter is the new Professor of Quantum Information at the Faculty of Computer Science. In his research group, an international team explores the implications of quantum mechanics - the laws which describe nature on its smallest scales - for the theory of computing. “Quantum computers do not simply compute faster, but they operate using completely different principles than ordinary ‘classical’ computers,” he explains. “Accordingly, the design of quantum algorithms and protocols requires entirely new concepts and ideas.” Walter is also interested in applying ideas from quantum information to other areas of computer science, mathematics, and physics. The research group is actively involved in several national and international collaborations with academic and industrial partners.Read further...
Kick-Off EqualCS - The first plenary meeting on equality at the Faculty of Computer Science on February 24, at 12 PM
All members form and shape the face of the Faculty of Computer Science on a daily basis. Its still young history offers us the unique opportunity to directly and firmly anchor an active equality engagement as a core strategic orientation of our faculty.
Why do we need equality? As an educational and research institution in computer science, we bear a special social responsibility: Hardly any other science is as shaping and defining the future as computer science. For this very reason, diversity and participation of all perspectives is essential at our faculty. Equal opportunity work should of course not only promote quantitative and qualitative equality of opportunity between the genders, but also strengthen all underrepresented groups.
We explicitly invite all members of the Faculty of Computer Science interested in working on equal opportunities for all to the kick-off meeting of EqualCS - Equal Opportunities@Computer Science on February 24, 2022 from 12 to 1 pm via Zoom (Meeting ID: 614 6822 5753 Password: 355889).
All participants are welcome to give their input. We will brainstorm together how we want to shape our equality work: What are our goals and how can we achieve them? In addition, we will generate proposals together for the equal opportunity officers of all status groups. We look forward to a lively participation and would like to emphasize that equal opportunity work is a meaningful task that can be used to actively influence the daily life of our faculty.
IT Security Meets Art
Within the framework of an art-science residency entitled "RE:SEARCHING IT SECURITY", an intensive collaboration between the HGI and media artist Marco Barotti takes place.
At first glance, art and IT security seem like two completely opposite worlds. Scientists of the Cluster of Excellence CASA and the Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security are currently exploring how the two disciplines can enrich each other. Within the framework of an art-science residency entitled "RE:SEARCHING IT SECURITY", an intensive collaboration with media artist Marco Barotti is taking place, through which an interdisciplinary work of art will be created.
To the article
The "Möglichmacher" research trip makes a stop in Bochum
NRW Minister of Science Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen was given an insight into current IT security research at RUB.
Whether it was the hacker attacks on the German Bundestag in 2015 or the cyberattack on a municipal IT service provider that paralyzed the transmission of the latest Corona figures for weeks in the fall of 2021: cyberattacks are becoming increasingly refined. That's why we depend on a secure IT infrastructure in a mobile, digitized society. On January 24, 2022, at the sixth stop of her research trip "#Möglichmacher", the Minister of Culture and Science Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen informed herself at the Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security (HGI) of RUB and the Cluster of Excellence "CASA: Cyber Security in the Age of Large-Scale Adversaries" embedded there about the diversity of cutting-edge research and what contribution it makes to a secure future.
The 2nd Computer Science Day will take place on 23 February
Why can we remember a two-hour film but not all three things on a shopping list? How can security vulnerabilities be prevented already during the development of software? What security risks should have been considered before the mass adoption of blockchains? What curiosities does fuzzing hold as an automated software testing technique?
Answers to these and more questions can be found by all who are interested at the 2nd Day of Computer Science. We cordially invite all curious people to the online event on 23 February 2022 from 2 pm. The short presentations will be followed by a virtual get-together. If you register by 11 February 2022, you will receive a small surprise package for the event (while stocks last).
Registration, programme and latest info
HGI is hosting the 9th IT Security Award 2022
Registration for participation in the economic prize for IT security in Germany with an endowment of 160,000 euros is possible from 03.01.2022. Every two years, the Horst Görtz Foundation awards the German Prize for IT Security with the aim of consolidating the position of IT security "made in Germany". In 2022, the Horst Görtz Foundation is again looking for new innovative concepts and solutions. This time, the 9th German IT Security Award 2022 will be organized and hosted by the Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security.
Continue reading...
Steffen Bondorf fills W2 professorship for Distributed and Networked Systems
Steffen Bondorf will hold the W2 professorship for Distributed and Networked Systems from 01 December 2021. In October 2019, he was appointed as the first RUB Junior Professor under the joint tenure-track program of the German federal and state governments for the promotion of young scientists.
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The first IT.Connect starts with over 150 participants
In line with the launch of the new Faculty of Computer Science at the Ruhr University Bochum, a new event format was also created: IT.Connect – the company contact fair for academic IT professions. The fair celebrated its premiere on November 17 and 18 with over 150 participants, including over 120 students – first online, then in the new building of the Faculty of Computer Science. With the IT.Connect, the ITS.Connect, which is the trade fair for jobs in IT security and which has already been established since 2008, gets its sister event for the entire field of computer science.
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Alena Naiakshina occupies new professorship for Developer Centered Security
Prof. Dr. Alena Naiakshina will fill the professorship Developer Centered Security from November 2021. “I deal with diverse topics in IT security, with a focus on user-friendly systems for software developers. As part of my work, I conduct studies with software developers to study their behavior with regard to security,” she explains.
The underlying background of her research is that, just like end users, software developers are usually not security experts. A lack of understanding of security in the development process can later lead to millions of end users being put at risk.
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The first faculty council of the Faculty of Computer Science is elected
Here you can find the election results!
Ghassan Karame fills W3 professorship in Information Security
Just as the Faculty of Computer Science is established, it is already growing: Prof. Dr. Ghassan Karame will fill the professorship for Information Security from November 2021, thus expanding the research portfolio of the faculty.
The newly appointed professor’s research interests lie in all aspects of security and privacy, with a particular focus on blockchain security and privacy, machine learning security, and storage security.
Continue reading...
HGI graduate receives award for his thesis
Benedict Schlüter has been honored with the eurobits Excellence Award 2021 for his bachelor thesis. For the fifth time, the European Competence Center for IT Security (eurobits) has honored an outstanding thesis from the field of IT security and information security with the eurobits Excellence Award. The 21-year-old Benedict Schlüter convinced with his bachelor thesis on the topic "Security Analysis of eBPF", which he wrote at the Horst Görtz Institute (HGI) of the RUB. Jury head and deputy CEO of eurobits, Ralf Benzmüller, justified the award with the high practical relevance of the research results for the detection of complicated security vulnerabilities.
To the article (German)...
Election of the Faculty Council: Submission of election proposals
Faculty members of all status groups (professors, academic staff, technical and administrative staff, and students) are invited to submit proposals for the members of the Faculty Council until 29.10.2021.
Please send your proposals informally by e-mail to the Dean's Office of the Faculty of Computer Science (informatik-dekanat@rub.de).
For information on voting locations and absentee voting, please visit the info page on the Faculty Council election.
The NERD.NRW Research Training Group is being extended: NERD II is coming
The application of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) for the continuation of the Research Training Group (RTG) “North-Rhine Westphalian Experts in Research on Digitization”, NERD for short, was successful: NERD II will be funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia for 3.5 years starting in February 2022 with a sum of around 2.5 million euros. In addition to the RUB as organizer, the universities involved are FH Münster, WWU Münster, University of Paderborn, RWTH Aachen and the University of Wuppertal.
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Operating systems for next generation computers
Previous main memories are always dependent on the power supply, new ones are not. Computers must be equipped for this.
While current main memories immediately lose their stored data without a power supply, new technologies are designed for non-volatile memories. Operating systems suitable for this are the focus of the NEON project, which is being funded by the German Research Foundation at RUB and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg for two years starting in October 2021. The coordinator is Prof. Dr. Timo Hönig, who heads the "Bochum Operating Systems and System Software (BOSS)" research group at RUB's Chair of Operating Systems and System Software.
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Elections to the first Faculty Council of the Faculty of Computer Science
All members - about 200 employees and 2000 students - of the Faculty of Computer Science, which will be founded on 01 October 2021, are called upon to elect the first Faculty Council. This is composed of 15 members plus one representative per member and forms the central decision-making body of the faculty.
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Women in IT Security
The CASA Cluster of Excellence has launched a new event to promote outstanding female students and scholars.
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Christof Paar receives Ring of Honor from the City of Bochum
This is in recognition of his commitment to IT security in Bochum.
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"This is crucial"
For the first time since 1985, RUB is setting up a new faculty. Computer science is thus given a new significance as a focus of study and research.
Read further..