Fragile protection of our communications via submarine cables

ATHENE researchers study states' vulnerability to submarine cable failures
Today, we take it for granted that we can call up a website, stream a movie or be active in social networks within seconds. Many people are often unaware that the data transfer takes place via thousands of kilometers of cable laid at the bottom of the ocean. Today, around 98 percent of international Internet traffic is handled via undersea communication cables. Coastal and island states are highly dependent on this physical infrastructure to provide Internet connections. However, although an annual average of about 100 submarine cable failures of human or natural origin occur, there is currently no global analysis that assesses the vulnerability of individual states to failures on a global scale.
ATHENE scientists Jonas Franken, Thomas Reinhold and Prof. Christian Reuter from the Chair of Science and Technology for Peace and Security (PEASEC) at TU Darmstadt have tackled this issue.

Lecture Series "Sichere Kritische Infrastrukturen"

In the winter semester 2021/2022, the lecture series "Sichere Kritische Infrastrukturen" will be offered again at the TU Darmstadt. The series of events will focus on various critical infrastructures and their security challenges. Speakers from research institutions, companies, public authorities or operators of critical infrastructures will shed light on individual facets of the topic in their lectures. The lecture series is organized by ATHENE researchers Prof. Matthias Hollick and Prof. Christian Reuter as well as Prof. Jens Ivo Engels from TU Darmstadt.

ATHENE scientists discuss the possibilities and limits of cooperative security in cyberspace

As part of the lecture series of the Evangelical Academy Loccum under the title “Cyberwarfare - Cyberpeacebuliding. On a search for a Cooperative Security Architecture in Cyberspace ”, ATHENE scientist Prof. Christian Reuter, head of the research group PEASEC - Science and Technology for Peace and Security at the TU Darmstadt, discusses  the possibilities and limits of cooperative security in cyberspace.

ATHENE scientist is invited as an expert to the public hearing of the Defense Committee

Thomas Reinhold, research associate in the PEASEC research group led by ATHENE researcher Prof. Christian Reuter, was invited as an expert to a public hearing of the Defence Committee in the German Bundestag. The hearing dealt with "Constitutional and international law issues in the military cyber and information space with special consideration of the parliamentary prerogative, the imputability of cyber attacks and a possible adaptation of national and international norms".

Study by ATHENE Scientist published in A* rated journal

How do different types of so-called nudges, small "nudges" that try to move us to a decision in a more or less subtle way, influence our cybersecurity decisions?

This was investigated by the ATHENE Scientist Verena Zimmermann from TU Darmstadt and Prof. Karen Renaud from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland.

Their observations and results are summarized in the article “The Nudge Puzzle: Matching Nudge Interventions to Cybersecurity Decisions”, which was recently published in the A * -rated journal ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction.

ATHENE researcher in the Program Committee of ARES 2021

Prof. Christian Reuter from TU Darmstadt is one of the Program Committee Members of the 16th International Conference on Availability, Reliability and Security (ARES for short) 2021. The international conference highlights the various aspects of security - with a special focus on the crucial link between availability, reliability and security.

ATHENE: Security

Eine wesen­tliche Aufgabe von ATHENE besteht darin, zu mehr Cybersicherheit und Privatsphärenschutz für die digitale Transformation von Gesellschaft, Wirtschaft und öffentlicher Verwaltung beizutragen. Im Fokus unserer anwendungsorientierten Forschung arbeiten wir an neuen Er­kennt­nissen und Ergebnissen etwa durch die Entwicklung neuer Tech­no­logien, Methoden oder Konzepten. Dabei decken wir eine große Bandbreite von Fragestellungen ab.

ATHENE-Prize 2020: ATHENE researcher receives honorary prize for interdisciplinary teachings

Every year, the Carlo and Karin Giersch-Stiftung at the TU Darmstadt awards the “Athene-Preis für gute Lehre” worth 46.000 euros. With this prize, the TU Darmstadt recognises outstanding best-practice-models in the area of teaching. This year’s special prize for interdisciplinary teachings goes to ATHENE researcher Prof. Christian Reuter.

ATHENE researcher receives IANUS Prize 2020

Seven excellent submissions from seven different departments at the TU Darmstadt reached the final round for the IANUS Prize 2020 – a prize the TU Darmstadt awards for outstanding qualifying work in any department at the university. Two applicants were awarded first place. The first prize, doted with 500 euros, was awarded to ATHENE researcher Dr. Marc-André Kaufhold, M.Sc., for his dissertation “Information Refinement Technologies for Crisis Informatics: User Expectations and Design Implications for Social Media and Mobile Apps in Crisis”.

© Katrin Binner

In the media: ATHENE researcher talks crisis-proof infrastructures

How crisis-proof are our digital infrastructures? The Hessischer Rundfunk programme “alles wissen” investigates this question. Prof. Matthias Hollick, head of the project EmergenCITY at the TU Darmstadt, says, “I don’t think that there are many catastrophes waiting to happen. On the other hand, we are indeed endangered by catastrophes at any time.” He continues that especially the Covid-19 crisis shows how crises can emerge out of nowhere and require learning proper handling amidst such a crisis.