Following a presentation of the Center by CEO and Founding Director Michael Backes, Martin Keller, accompanied by Helmholtz Executive Director Sabine Helling-Mögen and other guests from the Helmholtz headquarters, visited various research groups. They provided insights into CISPA’s key areas of work, ranging from secure software and hardware to trustworthy AI.
Insights into the Research
CISPA-Faculty Dr. Franziska Boenisch and Dr. Adam Dziedzic demonstrated in a conversation with Keller what conditions must be met for AI systems to justify our trust. For the researchers and their “SprintML-Lab” group, the focus is on questions of security, robustness, privacy protection, transparency, and the traceability of AI decisions. They presented current work ranging from watermarks for AI-generated content to new approaches for privacy protection during model training.
The next station focused on the security of complex software systems. Using the fuzzer Fandango, José Antonio Amuda Zamaya from Andreas Zeller’s research group demonstrated to Keller how programs can be tested specifically for vulnerabilities. Instead of random inputs, the system generates optimized test cases and can thus reveal even deep-seated errors. Fandango is already being used by companies such as Bosch and Volkswagen.
Just how vulnerable technical systems are in everyday life became clear during a visit to the research group led by CISPA-Faculty Ali Abbasi. Using the honeypot framework HoneySat, the team showed Keller how attacks on satellites can be simulated and analyzed under realistic conditions—a research topic that has received little attention to date.
The discussion with CISPA-Faculty Michael Schwarz delved even deeper into the fundamentals: The focus here was on vulnerabilities in modern processors. Keller was shown how so-called side channels make it possible to access sensitive data despite protective mechanisms.
Concluding the research insights, the Helmholtz President experienced in a flight simulator how the RTLola monitoring framework operates in safety-critical systems. Developed by Bernd Finkbeiner’s group, it detects deviations from defined rules in real time.
Following this, Keller spoke with early-career researchers about current projects, career paths, and the broader context of scientific research.
From Research to Application
Another focus of the visit was technology transfer at CISPA. It became clear how startups are supported even in early phases: Nazligül Keske for example, presented her planned startup in the field of OT security. She is an alumna of the first cohort of the CISPA Founders Fellowship Program and a successful example of the journey from initial idea to an upcoming startup. Dominik Steinhöfel presented his startup InputLab, which is working on solutions to make test data secure yet practically usable for banks and insurance companies. Tim Walita presented the work of Detesia. The startup develops technologies for detecting deepfakes and was most recently involved in analyzing fakes disseminated in the media.
Maximilian von Lonski from VISS presented his hardware-based security concept to Keller, which is designed to protect computers against attacks and is currently funded by the NATO DIANA program. In their discussion with Keller, the founders also spoke about challenges in the startup process and in translating research results into marketable applications.
Shared Perspectives
Research must bring about real societal change and address the pressing challenges of our time. This is not only the credo of CISPA but also the stance of Martin Keller—a major task for the entire Helmholtz Association. Through their research on secure, reliable, efficient, and trustworthy systems, CISPA researchers are making a significant contribution to a better digital future.
About Martin Keller
Before his election as Helmholtz President last year, Martin Keller served for about ten years as Director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, USA, and as President of the Alliance for Sustainable Energy—the organization that operates NREL on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy. From 2006 to 2015, he held senior positions at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, most recently as Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and Environmental Sciences. A native of Germany, he studied at the University of Regensburg and earned his Ph.D. in microbiology.
