Active Cyber Defence
A nuanced view of a complex security concept
In their groundbreaking work, our Director, Prof. Michael Waidner, and ATHENE Board Member, Prof. Haya Schulmann, have formulated a precise definition of active cyber defence, which encompasses those technologies and measures that support law enforcement in the prevention, mitigation and prosecution of crimes in cyberspace. They clearly distinguish this concept from hackbacks, which are merely retaliatory attacks against cyber attackers and do not aim to systematically prosecute or thwart cybercrime. Experts from the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and the European Union Agency for Cynersecurity (ENISA) also emphasise that when implementing cyber security measures, it is always necessary to strive for a positive impact balance, in which any negative effects are significantly outweighed by the security gains or avoided altogether. The scientific work of ATHENE has pioneered the objective discourse on active cyber defence since 2022. The Wissenschaftliche Arbeitsgruppe Nationaler Cyber-Sicherheitsrat took up the topic and asked Prof. Michael Waidner and Prof. Haya Schulmann to write an impulse paper under their leadership. ATHENE takes an interdisciplinary approach to the topic, including in particular the legal aspects.
ATHENE projects and contributions from its "Active Cyber Defence" think tank
ATHENE Project "Active Cyber Defense"
The project aims to proactively prevent and continuously block attacks such as denial of service, traffic hijacking, ransomware and phishing. To this end, different blocking techniques will be simulated in terms of their effectiveness and possible collateral damage. The analyses take into account various factors such as cooperation with third parties (registrars, ISPs) as well as cross-border cooperation in order to develop technological solutions for active cyber defence that can be implemented technologically, legislatively and operationally both in Germany and on a European level.
More about the project
White Paper "Maßnahmen aktiver Cyberabwehr - Eine strafrechtliche und völkerrechtliche Betrachtung", 2024
Authors: Alina Boll, Tanya Gärtner, Tim M. Hacke , Denise Köcke
Download PDF, 879 KB)
Position Paper "Ergänzungsvorschlag für Datenschutz-Grundverordnung (DSGVO)", 2024
Authors: Dr. Annika Selzer, Sarah Stummer, Alina Boll
Download, PDF, 341 KB)
Article in the DuD • Datenschutz und Datensicherheit: "Aktive Cyberabwehr - Klassifikation und Einschätzung der technischen Möglichkeiten zur aktiven Abwehr von Angriffen", August 2023
Authors: Prof. Haya Schulmann, Prof. Michael Waidner
to the article
Viewpoint in the Tagesspiegel Background: Begriffsverwirrung verhindern: "Was Maßnahmen Aktiver Cyberabwehr sind – und was nicht", 15.08.2023
Authors: Tanya Gärtner, Dr. Annika Selzer
to the viewpoint (paywall)
"Aktive Cyberabwehr": Impulse paper of the Wissenschaftliche Arbeitsgruppe Nationaler Cyber-Sicherheitsrat, March 2023
Authors: Thomas Caspers, Prof. Gabi Dreo Rodosek, Prof. Claudia Eckert, Prof. Jörn Müller-Quade, Prof. Christof Paar, Prof. Alexander Roßnagel, Prof. Michael Waidner
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Whitepaper "Aktive Cyberabwehr", October 2022
Authors: Prof. Haya Schulmann, Prof. Michael Waidner
Download PDF, 240 KB)
Article in the Tagesspiegel Background: "Aktive Cybersecurity", 13.10.2022
Authors: Prof. Haya Schulmann, Prof. Michael Waidner
to the article (paywall)
Interview with Prof. Haya Schulmann und Prof. Michael Waidner in the Tagesspiegel Background: "Hackbacks haben mit aktiver Cyberabwehr nichts zu tun", 18.05.2022
to the interview (paywall)
Article in the F.A.Z.: "Der Weg zur aktiven Cyberabwehr", 25.04.2022
Authors: Prof. Haya Schulmann, Prof. Michael Waidner
to the article (paywall)
