Usable Security | UCS

EICC 2026 at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

From 17 to 18 June, we will be hosting EICC 2026 at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. The final program is now available. Details

PIONEER project presents current investigations and publications

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The ATHENE research project PIONEER was featured at the 29th International Conference Information Visualisation held on August 07, 2025 in Darmstadt. The conference brought together leading experts from academia and research institutions to discuss the latest developments in information visualisation, machine learning, and data science.

During the event, Sara Hahn presented the latest research investigations and publications on PIONEER’s innovative Digital Privacy Companion. In her talk, Sara Hahn provided a comprehensive overview of the project’s theoretical foundations and research methodology, while also showcasing current investigations, findings, and recent publications.

The PIONEER project is part of ATHENE’s mission to advance cybersecurity and privacy research with practical solutions that can be transferred into real-world applications.

Sara Hahn presenting the poster on Day 2 of the IV2025 Conference. Image © IV2025

PIONEER project presents current results

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

UCS recently participated in the ATHENE-Conference on Cognitive Security, held on November 19, 2024, at the historic Jügelhaus in Frankfurt am Main. The event gathered experts from academia, media, and politics to address the pressing challenges posed by cognitive attacks in the digital age. In addition to interesting talks and an insightful panel discussion, several projects were presented in the demo sessions.

Sara Hahn had the opportunity to present the ATHENE project PIONEER’s mobile prototype during the demo sessions with her project colleagues from the TU Darmstadt. The conference guests could explore the prototype’s features, such as lessons and quizzes about privacy, or compare applications regarding their privacy friendliness.

Within our project PIONEER, we strive to empower users in their digital sovereignty by providing them with the necessary knowledge and motivating them to acquire and apply competencies in their everyday digital lives.

The PIONEER Team. Image © Catharina Frank

Conference Impressions. Image © Catharina Frank

Workshop on crypto-agility and migration

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

We will host a workshop on crypto-agility and migration on September 19, 2023. Details

UCS@1st Research Day / FBI

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

An article about the research day can be found here

Article in Steinbeis Transfer Magazine

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Title

Good Usability Delivers Tighter Security

Abstract

The modern world of work would be almost inconceivable without the support of IT systems. Connected systems and IT solutions also continue to make inroads into our private lives. Consider, for example, intelligent heating controls (smart home systems), which have gained in importance in the current energy crisis. This trend is being accelerated by more and more people coming into direct contact with IT solutions. Among other areas, Professor Dr. Andreas Heinemann (Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences/InCUPS, his Steinbeis Transfer Center for Internet Communication, Usability, Privacy, and Security) specializes in IT security and usability. This involves investigating how to mitigate cyber risk.

Paper accepted at EICC 2022

Thu, 05 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Our paper “cryptolib: comparing and selecting cryptography libraries” by Jan Wohlwender, Rolf Huesmann, Andreas Heinemann and Alexander Wiesmaier will be presented at the European Interdisciplinary Cybersecurity Conference 2022 (EICC 2022) on June 15/16.

This work is based on the results of Jan Wohlwender’s Master’s thesis. Jan completed his Master’s programme at the Department of Computer Science with a focus on IT security.

Benutzbarkeit von zustandsbehafteten, Hash-basierten Signaturverfahren

Fri, 16 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

Quantum computers pose a danger to asymmetric cryptographic schemes. As development continues, schemes such as RSA will likely be broken in a few years’ time. For this reason, different algorithms that would also withstand powerful quantum computers are already being considered today. One class of such algorithms are hash-based signature schemes, some of which, including XMSS, are stateful. This leads to additional challenges for error-free use and integration in IT systems by developers. However, the security of IT systems depends on the correct use of cryptographic algorithms. This thesis therefore proposes a usable API design for stateful signature schemes using XMSS/XMSSMT as an example. This design was developed through a series of interviews with software developers, prototypically implemented and evaluated in further user studies. It was shown that the API can manage the stateful key in a way that is transparent to the user. However, this leads to many of the study’s participants not being aware of using stateful schemes. Regarding the documentation and applicability of the API, good results could be achieved.