Research
The Secure Software Systems (SSS) research group focuses on various security and privacy aspects of IT-systems. In the era of ubiquitous digitalization and emerging technology trends that are transforming traditional industrial and business models, our goal is to push forward cutting edge research in order to identify new attack vectors and design countermeasures.
Our research agenda includes a broad range of topics in the area of secure software engineering and security of computing platforms in various application domains, such as mobile and cloud computing, embedded and distributed systems, Internet of Things (IoT) and cyber-physical systems.
We also aim to educate our students, the future software engineers, about state-of-the-art attacks and best programming practices, in order to enhance their competence and increase security awareness.
Projects
SIMPL: Secure Internet of Things Management Platform
The SIMPL project aims to develop a framework for secure communication in heterogeneous and dynamic networks, such as the Internet of Things (IoT).
Together with the industry partners Infosim, Mixed Mode, and Hahn-Schickard, the Secure Software Systems Group and the Software Engineering group are developing a communication middelware to facilitate secure information exchange between IoT devices. Currently, most of these devices communicate insecurely through a variety of protocols. The SIMPL framework aims to provide a secure layer for message encryption and authentication, permission and key management, as well as trust establishment. To prevent vendor lock-in and single points of failure, decentralized approaches to achieve trust consensus will be explored in this project, for example through the use of blockchains.
We are currently searching for qualified applicants for an open position related to this project (PhD or Post-Doc candidates). More information about the position can be found on our job page.
The SIMPL project is founded through the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, and has a duration of three years (July 2018 to June 2021).
