"We are committed to scientific excellence and cutting-edge research, and are aiming to develop CISPA into one of the leading cybersecurity research centers in the world."
Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael Backes
Founding Director & CEO
©Peter Kerkrath
When the president of the Helmholtz Association contacted me in December 2016 to jointly explore the foundation of a new Helmholtz Center for Information Security, I was both overwhelmed and flattered. Several weeks needed to pass until I started to understand the true dimension of what was being envisioned here: building up a world-class research center with truly comprehensive base funding for more than 500 researchers, committed to scientific excellence and cutting-edge research, and dedicated to targeting the grand Cybersecurity challenges that we face in our age of digitalization. I learned that the foundation of a new Helmholtz Center is an exceptionally rare, far-reaching decision taken with the objective of assuming a global lead in a research topic that is of sovereign importance. I was thrilled by the ability to build up such a center, and I felt that it was a journey, of which I for sure wanted to be part of.
We are currently focusing on attracting some of the best national and international researchers to the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security. We know that we cannot compete with the long-standing traditions and renowned reputations of the top American and European universities. Yet we believe that we can offer an inspiring working place that is defined by our commitment to excellence and our blue-sky ambitions. We provide comprehensive sustained resources that enable freedom of research and the ability to tackle some of the grand, long-term Cybersecurity research challenges. I am convinced that this situation offers unique opportunities for outstanding researchers at all stages of their career, and I will do everything in my power to evolve CISPA into one of the leading Cybersecurity research centers in the world.
I sincerely hope that this website conveys the spirit that animates this new research center. Most of all, I hope that you will soon have the opportunity to visit us here in the beautiful state of Saarland, right in the heart of Europe to renew old acquaintances or to create new ones. We are looking forward to welcoming you here.
Best wishes,
Michael Backes -
Founding Director and CEO of the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security
Michael Backes is founding director and CEO of the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security. His current research focuses on innovative methods for the protection of personal data, especially in medicine, as well as on trustworthy methods for machine learning and on universal solutions for software and system security. His research results are documented in more than 300 publications in the leading international journals and conference proceedings. His research has been awarded with scientifically renowned prizes, in particular with the ERC Synergy Grant as the highest endowed EU research prize. He was the first German researcher to receive the international MIT TR35 Award. This prize is awarded interdisciplinary, to the world's best researchers under 35 years of age, whose achievements will have a "dramatic impact" on the world. Director Michael Backes, as of today, is the youngest member of the Academy of Engineering Sciences "acaTech" and is regularly listed in rankings as one of Germany's most important IT personalities. He was honored by former Federal Minister Johanna Wanka as one of Germany's digital minds. He holds an honorary doctorate by the Université de Lorraine and is a Fellow of the IEEE. In 2019 he was awarded the Karl-Heinz Beckurts Prize.
2019: Karl Heinz Beckurts Price
2018: IEEE Fellow
2018: Honorary Doctorate
2017: NSA Cybersecurity Research Award
2017: IEEE Golden Core Award
2017: CNIL-INRIA Privacy Award
2014: ERC Synergy Grant
2014: IEEE Outstanding Community Service Award
2011: IEEE Outstanding Community Service Award
2009: ERC Starting Grant
2008: IBM Faculty Award
2007: Fellow of the German Max Planck Society
2005: IBM Outstanding Achievement Award for Linking Formal Verification and Cryptography
2005: IBM Research Division Award for contributions to Web Services Security
2004: Microsoft Award for outstanding research in privacy enhancing technologies
2004: IBM Outstanding Achievement Award for contributions to Enterprise Privacy Architectures
2002: VDI Diploma Thesis Award
2001: Scholarship of the DFG graduate studies program ”Quality Guarantees for Computer Systems”
2015: Member of the German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech)
2015: Teaching Award of the State of Saarland
2014: Named one of Germany’s Digital Minds by Federal Minister Wanka
2014: CS Teaching Award of Saarland University
2009: MIT TR35 (35 most outstanding researchers / innovators under the age of 35 worldwide)
2010/11: Top-40 of German IT people, ranking of Computerwoche
2010 - 2014: Top-40-under-40 of German researchers, ranking of Capital
2009: CS Teaching Award of Saarland University
2007: CS Teaching Award of Saarland University
2018: ACM Computer and Communication Security Conference (CCS)
2016: IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy (EuroS&P)
2014: IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (S&P)
2013: IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (S&P)
2011: IEEE Computer Security Foundations Symposium (CSF)
2010: IEEE Computer Security Foundations Symposium (CSF)
2009: European Symposium on Research in Computer Security (ESORICS)
2006: Information Security Conference (ISC)
2015 - present
IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy (EuroS&P, chair)
2013 – present
IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (S&P)
2010 – present
IEEE Computer Security Foundations Symposium (CSF)
2009 – present
European Symposium on Research in Computer Security (ESORICS)
2003 – 2008
ACM Workshop on Formal Methods in Systems Engineering (FMSE)
2016 – present
CACM’s Research Highlights
2014 – present
Foundations and Trends in Security and Privacy, Editorial Board
2012 – 2013
Journal of Computer Security, Editor
2007 – 2012
International Journal of Information Security, Editorial Board
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