New Edition: Standard Reference Work on IT in Peace and Security Research Released
Rapid technological developments in information technology and artificial intelligence are increasingly shaping the international peace and security architecture. The newly published standard work 'Information Technology for Peace and Security' provides a comprehensive analysis of these developments. The second edition, edited by ATHENE researcher Prof. Christian Reuter and his research team at the Technical University of Darmstadt, has been thoroughly revised and expanded. It examines the role of modern technologies - especially information technology (IT) and artificial intelligence (AI) - in current conflicts, such as the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the Israeli-Hamas conflict. Special attention is given to the growing importance of ICT infrastructures and social media in crisis areas.
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FIfF-Weizenbaum Study Prize 2024 for ATHENE team
The "PEASEC" research group at TU Darmstadt, led by ATHENE researcher Prof. Christian Reuter, has been awarded the Weizenbaum Study Prize 2024 twice: Both Dr Thea Riebe and Dr Thomas Reinhold were awarded 1st prize for their dissertations completed in 2022 and 2023 respectively, both of which were supervised by Prof. Christian Reuter.
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ATHENE researcher defends her doctoral thesis
In the team of ATHENE Prof. Christian Reuter at the TU Darmstadt, Katrin Hartwig successfully completed her doctorate. Her’s thesis Navigating Misinformation: User-Centered Design and Evaluation of Indicator-Based Digital Interventions focuses on user-centred digital misinformation interventions, such as smartphone apps and browser plug-ins, to help users manage misinformation in various forms.
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ATHENE paper accepted at prestigious S&P
The paper "Investigating Voter Perceptions of Printed Physical Audit Trails for Online Voting", written in collaboration with ATHENE researchers, has been accepted at the prestigious IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (S&P). S&P is the premier forum for leading international experts in research and practice to discuss the latest developments in computer security and electronic privacy.
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Accepted papers on the CHI 2024
Three papers written by ATHENE researchers were accepted at the A*-ranked ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI for short. The annual conference is the premier international conference of Human-Computer Interaction.
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Congratulations to Dr. rer. nat. Jasmin Haunschild
Jasmin Haunschild, an ATHENE scientist, completed the final part of her doctoral thesis at the Department of Computer Science at the TU Darmstadt. Her thesis titled "Enhancing Citizens' Role in Public Safety: Interaction, Perception and Design of Mobile Warning Apps" was written as part of the ATHENE research area Secure Urban infrastructures (SecUrban). Her thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr. Dr. Christian Reuter and co-supervised by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Fiedrich. The thesis was reviewed and recommended for acceptance by the Department of Computer Science. The oral examination was chaired by Prof. Dr. Marco Zimmerling, with Prof. Dr. Jan Gugenheimer and Prof. Dr. Joachmin Vogt also involved as examiners.
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Congratulations to ATHENE researcher Thomas Reinhold on the successful defense of his doctoral thesis
We are pleased to announce that ATHENE researcher Thomas Reinhold has successfully completed his dissertation at the Department of Computer Science at TU Darmstadt, on his path to obtaining a "Dr. rer. nat." degree. His dissertation, "Towards a Peaceful Development of Cyberspace - Challenges and Technical Measures for the De-escalation of State-led Cyberconflicts and Arms Control of Cyberweapons," was written as part of the ATHENE research area, Secure Urban Infrastructure (SecUrban). The research was supervised by Prof. Dr. Dr. Christian Reuter, the coordinator of the research area and Head of the Department of Science and Technology for Peace and Security (PEASEC) at TU Darmstadt.
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ATHENE researchers publish their work in the journal IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society
ATHENE researchers at TU Darmstadt are working on a privacy-friendly approach for state actors to compare exploit inventories without disclosing national secrets. This approach can be used to enhance cybersecurity for civilians, as known exploits that are identified by multiple states can be released for remediation. The method provides a practical solution to cyber arms control. The research was published in the IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society journal and was awarded the 2022 CROSSING Collaboration Award.
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ATHENE reserach in the ARD
In the new ARD documentary "ARD Wissen: Deutschland im Ernstfall: Wie schützen wir unsere Infrastruktur?", ATHENE researchers Prof. Christian Reuter, head of the ATHENE research area "Secure Urban Infrastructure (SecUrban)" and Dr. Marc-André Kaufhold report on their research on automated collection of public data sources and data evaluation with credibility analysis and information prioritization. Thisr research was conducted as part of the CYWARN project and the ATHENE research area Secure Urban Infrastructure (Securban).
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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.