ABOUT CISPA
The CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security is a German national Big Science Institution within the Helmholtz Association. Its research agenda encompasses all aspects of Information Security. With its ongoing growth, CISPA will soon reach the critical mass of researchers to provide a comprehensive, holistic treatment of the pressing grand challenges in Cybersecurity and Privacy that our society is facing in the age of digitalization.
CISPA seeks to play a prominent international role in research, transfer, and innovation by combining cutting-edge, often disruptive, foundational research with innovative application-oriented research. We also emphasize on technology transfer and societal outreach. Thematically, CISPA strives to cover the full spectrum from theory to empirical research. Its research is deeply grounded in computer science, while working interdisciplinarily with researchers in adjacent fields such as medicine, law, and the social sciences.
CISPA is committed to the highest international academic standards. We offer a world-class research environment that grants extensive resources to a great number of researchers and constitutes an attractive destination for the best scientific talent from across the world. Moreover, we strongly support the undergraduate and graduate education of Cybersecurity students, seeking to become an elite training ground for the next generation of Cybersecurity experts and scientific leaders in this field.
When our center was founded in 2011, "CISPA" stood for „Center for IT-Security, Privacy and Accountability”. In the meantime, CISPA has become established as a proper name. CISPA is based in Saarbrücken, in close proximity to both France and Luxemburg, which is an ideal location for regional as well as cross-border cooperation with other research institutes.
CISPA started out with one mission: Employing cutting-edge research to rethink the digitized world of the future and make it more secure.
We provide a comprehensive, holistic treatment of the pressing grand challenges in Cybersecurity and Privacy research that our society faces in the age of digitalization.
We assume a prominent international role in the field of Cybersecurity and Privacy research, pertaining to both cutting-edge foundational and application-oriented research.
We are committed to the highest international academic standards.
We offer a world-class research environment that grants extensive resources to a wide range of researchers and constitutes an attractive destination for the best talents and scientists from all countries.
We seek to become an elite training ground for the next generation of scientific leaders and innovators in Cybersecurity and Privacy.
We achieve a considerable impact on the general public by means of technology transfer, support of start-up companies, and societal outreach.
Professor Michael Backes is the founding director of CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security. He is the chairman and the speaker of CISPA’s executive board.
Dr. Kevin Streit has been the chief operating officer of the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security since November 1, 2021. The computer scientist has witnessed and also helped shape the development of the center from the very beginning.
CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security is constantly growing. The numbers are constantly changing. Here we present some of the most concise figures about the Helmholtz Center for Information Security. (March 31, 2025)
median age of our workforce
nationalities from all over the world
of our workforce are female
research assistants work at CISPA
employees – number growing by the month!
full member of the Helmholtz Association
This Code of Conduct serves as a framework for all the internal guidelines and the conduct of all the employees and supervisors of CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security (CISPA). This means that the Code of Conduct is an overarching set of rules which is part of the compliance management system. Our actions are based on respect, fairness, esteem, loyalty, security and frankness. CISPA's Code of Conduct set out below makes these principles clear.
At CISPA there's currently one common works council for all locations. It represents the interests of the employees and is elected for four years.
The Ombuds Office is a confidential and independent resource for all CISPA members. We want to deal constructively with concerns and conflicts related to your experience and work at the CISPA.
The Anti-Discrimination Agency has been set up to protect against discrimination in accordance with the General Act on Equal Treatment (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz – AGG).
CISPA strives to be an inclusive, fair and supportive workplace for all its employees. This is one of the reasons why our center has signed the Diversity Charta/Charta der Vielfalt. The first port of call for any questions concerning gender equality and equal opportunities at CISPA is our Equal Opportunities Office. It is also responsible for the implementation of CISPA’s Equality Plan.
Saarbrücken airport (SCN) offers daily non-stop flights to a number of European cities. A taxi ride from the airport to Saarland University takes about 20 minutes (Taxi Phone +49 681 33033 or +49 681 55000). Alternatively, a local bus (R10) will take you from the airport (bus stop: “Saarbrücken Flughafen”) to Saarland University in 45 minutes. The bus runs approximately twice an hour between 5 am and 8:45 pm on weekdays.
For details, see the R10 timetable: http://www.saarfahrplan.de
Frankfurt airport (FRA), the second biggest hub in Europe, is convenient for travellers from most destinations. It is a car drive of 1 1/2 hours to Saarbruecken and 2 to 2 1/2 hours by train. For instructions on getting from Frankfurt airport to Saarbruecken by train, see "By Train" below. Airports in Paris or Luxembourg are other convenient options, connected to Saarbruecken by train or bus.
Saarbruecken's main railway station (“Hauptbahnhof”) is well connected to other German cities. You can take the bus lines 111, 112, and 124 to Saarland University. A bus ride from Saarbruecken main railway station to Saarland University takes between 15 and 25 minutes. If you exit at bus stop “Stuhlsatzenhaus”, you are right at CISPA’s doorstep.
For details, access the timetables: http://www.saarfahrplan.de
GPS coordinates of the University campus: N 49.259386 E 7.051715
CISPA is located at the eastern entrance (“Universität Ost”) of the university. You can conveniently park your car right in front of our institute or in the multi-storey parking lot, “Universität Ost”, at a few hundred meters distance.
Stuhlsatzenhaus 5
66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
Schlackenbergstraße 20a
66386 St. Ingbert, Germany
Kaiserstraße 170-174
66386 St. Ingbert, Germany
Kaiserstraße 21
66386 St. Ingbert, Germany
Lange Laube 6 (3rd floor)
30159 Hannover
Joseph-von-Fraunhofer Straße 20
44227 Dortmund
On our Media Relations Page we provide members of the press with all relevant information about CISPA. Please contact us directly if you have any institutional inquiries or further questions regarding our research. We will be happy to connect you with our cybersecurity and trustworthy AI experts.