Prof. Christian Wressnegger von den KASTEL Security Research Labs hielt am 27. September auf dem AI STAR in Frankfurt einen Vortrag zum spannenden Thema Security of Explainable AI" (XAI). Ziel des AI STAR Symposiums ist es, aktuelle und zukünftige technische Lösungen im Zusammenhang mit KI zu beleuchten und Experten zu vernetzen. Außerdem soll das Bewusstsein der Öffentlichkeit für die KI-Forschung und deren Anwendungen gestärkt werden.

Am 24. August besuchte Prof. Lam Kwok Yan vom Digital Trust Center (DTC) in Singapur KASTEL Security Resarch Labs, das Kompetenzzentrum für IT-Sicherheit am KIT in Karlsruhe.

Das Digital Trust Center in Singapur ist ein nationales Forschungszentrum, das vertrauenswürdige digitale Technologien vorantreibt und damit Singapurs Status als Zentrum der digitalen Wirtschaft stärkt. Das DTC arbeitet mit Partnern aus der Industrie, akademischen Einrichtungen und der Regierung zusammen. Ziel ist es, für Unternehmen und Privatpersonen ein sicheres digitales Umfeld zu schaffen, damit die Chancen des digitalen Wandels in vollem Umfang genutzt werden können.

Prof. Lam, den Direktor des DTC und Vizepräsidenten der Nanyang Universität Singapur, verbinden langjährige Kontakte zum KIT. Mit seinem Besuch bei KASTEL Security Research Labs knüpfte er eine weitere Verbindung zur Vernetzung internationaler Forschungszentren im Bereich der IT-Sicherheit. Professor Jörn Müller-Quade, Leiter des Kompetenzzentrums KASTEL SRL, veranschaulichte an praktischen Beispielen die Forschung in der IT-Sicherheit und ihren Einsatz in Unternehmen. Prof. Lam würdigte die interdisziplinäre Forschung von KASTEL SRL und deren praktische Anwendung in zahlreichen Unternehmen.

On June 30, the federal state of Baden-Württemberg invited the laureates together with researchers to the traditional boat trip on Lake Constance at the end of the 72nd Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau. The final plenary session took place on the island of Mainau. The conference aims to promote the interdisciplinary dialogue between researchers. Jörn Müller-Quade and Jeremias Mechler from the KASTEL Security Research Labs at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology presented a cryptographic method that enables privacy-preserving computations on private data. A new feature of the method is the hardware, without having to fully trust the hardware itself. The new protocol has applications in medicine and represents a first cooperation with the recently founded KIT center HealthTech. According to Jörn Müller-Quade and Jeremias Mechler there was a very lively exchange with the participants on the boat trip. The newly developed software aroused particular interest among Science Minister Petra Olschowski.

On Saturday, June 19, KASTEL Security Research Labs together with StartUpSecure KASTEL gave the interested public an insight into the world of IT security at the KIT Open Day. A demonstrator for provably secure software protection was presented. By means of a computer game, visitors could test how secure software protection works. The program, developed in cooperation with Wibu-Systems AG, was awarded the IT Security Prize.

The historical "Fialka" cipher machine, which was also on display, attracted a great deal of interest from visitors. The "Fialka" was used for encryption and decryption in the Warsaw Pact countries since the 1960s. Most of the machines were destroyed with the termination of the Warsaw Pact and therefore represent a rarity today.

New Collaborative Research Center for Software Methods at KIT – DFG Funds Excellent KIT Research With around EUR 11 Million

Modern cyber-physical systems (CPS), such as cars or production facilities, contain a large range of electronic and mechanical components controlled by software. They resemble puzzles, the pieces of which change constantly. The complete system, however, will work only when all parts interact perfectly. When designing such systems, the challenge consists in keeping the system views consistent. New methods for this purpose will now be developed by a Collaborative Research Center (CRC) of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Work will be funded with around EUR 11 million for a period of four years.

On May 11, 2023, StartUpSecure KASTEL hosted the 2nd Community Congress at the Triangle Open Space in Karlsruhe, the venue for the exchange of science, business and society. The topics focused on critical infrastructures and cybersecurity. Keynote speeches on cybersecurity in the healthcare sector, in the energy sector and in security-critical, defense-related scenarios opened the well-attended event. After the presentations, young KASTEL scientists* presented their current research in a poster pitch. This was followed by a panel discussion in which experts from science and industry exchanged views on the infrastructures of tomorrow. At the end of the event, a three-member jury awarded the best poster with the "Best Poster Award" donated by Siemens AG. Patricia Guerra-Balboa and Alex Miranda-Pascual received the prize money of 1,000 euros for their research results.