Send email Copy Email Address

Welcome to CISPA

The CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security is a German national Big Science Institution within the Helmholtz Association. Our research encompasses all aspects of Information Security.

Arrow Pointing Down

Focus on research

We are committed to scientific excellence and cutting-edge research, and are aiming to develop CISPA into a world-leading research center on information security.

Focus on research

We are committed to scientific excellence and cutting-edge research, and are aiming to develop CISPA into a world-leading research center on information security.

CISPA latest

The 24th episode of our very own CISPA podcast TL;DR is online! We are talking about MobileAtlas, an infrastructure for mobile network tests across Europe. It was developed by CISPA researcher Adrian Dabrwoski, together with Gabriel Gegenhuber from the University of Vienna and colleagues from SBA Research. Dabrowski explains why testing and measuring across borders has been difficult and cumbersome so far, what the idea and technology behind MobileAtlas are, and what else he is interested in besides mobile research.

DISTINGUISHED Lecture Series

DLS Talk with Professor Lejla Batina (Radboud University) on “Beyond Physical: Revisiting the Interplay of Side-channel analysis and AI” Thursday, 12th of October, at 10am.

Lejla Batina is a professor in embedded systems security at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. She received her Ph.D. from KU Leuven, Belgium (2005) and before that she worked as a cryptographer for SafeNet B.V. in The Netherlands (2001–2003).
She has coauthored close to 160 refereed articles on various topics in applied cryptography and embedded systems security. Her current research interests include physical attacks on cryptographic implementations and the impact of AI on hardware security.

DEVELOPING FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES

Cybersecurity is a young and fast-evolving field. As a Helmholtz Center for Information Security, CISPA is dedicated to cutting-edge foundational research combined with innovative application-oriented research in the areas of cybersecurity, privacy, and artificial intelligence.

go to research

RESEARCH AREAS

Algorithmic  FOUNDATIONS and  Cryptography

In this highly connected world, graph problems are at the algorithmic heart of many computational challenges.

Discover More

Trustworthy Information Processing

This research area strives to improve privacy and to develop new frameworks for efficient and secure data handling.

Discover more

Reliable Security Guarantees

The fragile security of today's IT infrastructure is the result of a perpetual arms race between attackers and defenders. Formal methods offer a way out of this arms race. Based on mathematically precise models, they can systematically eliminate entire classes of attack strategies.

discover more

Threat Detection & Defenses

Attack-detection mechanisms must be able to reliably detect, predict, and explain both known and novel threats, while also being able to cope with evasion techniques (like obfuscation, polymorphism, or stealth low-volume attacks).

discover more

Secure   CONNECTED & MOBILE SYSTEMS

Faulty computer systems allow for spying on, as well as sabotaging, even the most critical infrastructures - this means that, for example, our energy supply network, water supply, and communication network etc. are under continuous risk.

discover more

Empirical & Behavioral Security

We need security solutions that actually work in practice, not only work in theory. Achieving this is not possible without empirical research. We focus on the ways in which people and technology interact.

discover more

CISPA PODCAST TL;DR

That text was way too long, so you didn't bother reading it? We feel you! In TL;DR, CISPA's first podcast, we talk to researchers about their work on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Once a month, we try to ask them the exact same questions that our listeners are asking themselves.

People from 43 nations work at CISPA. That's why you'll find conversations in both German and English in this feed.

Have fun listening!

CISPA ZINE

CISPA Zine: composed of CISPA and magazine, derived from the idea of the "fanzine." Fanzines are mostly small, folded magazines on various topics, created by fans for fans. The CISPA Zine is published quarterly and keeps our colleagues, supporters, and interested parties up to date on all important developments at the center. 

PhD at CISPA

CISPA offers full-time positions to PhD students. Cooperating with our research-group leaders and lecturers, PhD students have the opportunity to acquire new techniques and methodologies and receive support for their research projects.

The targeted support of emerging researchers is part and parcel of our self-understanding as a world-leading research center. We support PhD students in almost all of our research areas, including cybersecurity, data protection, cryptography, machine learning, data science, efficient algorithms, network security and program analysis.

PhD students who are enrolled at one of at one of the universities we cooperate with are eligible for the position of research assistant at CISPA. We are always looking for outstanding academic talent from all over the world. Candidates must hold a degree from a first-rate, research-oriented university in a subject relevant to our research interests. They should also possess an exceptional academic record, a good command of the English language as well as convincing letters of recommendation from their mentors or supervisors. At CISPA, our working language is English.

EVENTS AT CISPA

Saturday, September 16, 2023 – from 2 pm

CISPA loves IGB

We want to research and to celebrate together with you – at a big event taking place on the historic site of “Alte Schmelz” on September 16.

Saturday, September 16, 2023 – from 2 pm

CISPA loves IGB

We want to research and to celebrate together with you – at a big event taking place on the historic site of “Alte Schmelz” on September 16.

PAST EVENTS

Sep 16, 2023
to Sep 16, 2023
CISPA❤️St. Ingbert
Aug 21, 2023
to Aug 25, 2023
Summer School on System Security
Jul 31, 2023
to Aug 4, 2023
Cysec Camp (for participants aged 14-16 y)
May 25, 2023
to May 25, 2023
6th German-French Day for Cybersecurity at CISPA
Feb 7, 2023, 4:00 PM
to Feb 7, 2023, 5:00 PM
Safer Internet Day: Cysec Lab @ Saarbruecken library

YOUR CAREER AT CISPA

Recruiting highly talented students and young researchers in the fields of cybersecurity, data protection and artificial intelligence is a core element of our development and growth strategy.

It is our goal to train and hire top researchers and to accompany them in all stages of their scientific career. We want to help them advance as learners, from bachelor's or master's degrees to doctorates and postdoc or faculty-level positions. 

No matter what career step you want to take at CISPA, we offer everyone a stimulating, international, competitive, yet collaborative and, above all, enjoyable working environment for research and education. We firmly believe that this is how we can all reach our full potential.