News

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Tracking down lost keys or stolen bicycles made easy

While it was previously possible to track down Apple devices that were thought to have disappeared thanks to the "Find My" tracking app, it is now possible to better locate all kinds of Bluetooth devices - or important objects equipped with them, such as keys, bicycles or suitcases. A research team led by ATHENE researcher and emergenCITY coordinator Prof. Matthias Hollick at TU Darmstadt has developed and published an open-source framework for locating personal Bluetooth devices based on Apple's "Find My Network".

Fraunhofer study on the IT security of political parties

At the end of 2020, ATHENE launched a study on its own initiative to support the parties currently represented in the Bundestag in assessing and improving their security against cyber attacks. The project is being carried out for ATHENE by staff of the participating Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology SIT and led by Dr. Haya Shulman, head of the department Cybersecurity Analytics and Defences at Fraunhofer SIT.

ATHENE scientists find security vulnerabilities in Tapplock Bluetooth locks

Researchers at Fraunhofer SIT were able to pick Bluetooth locks from the US manufacturer Tapplock in seconds using simple means. All they needed was a homemade directional radio antenna made from crisp cans and two commercially available mini-computers. The manufacturer was informed about the vulnerabilities and has since fixed them in one of its models.

© Fraunhofer SIT

New research project from ATHENE: Disinformation and Corona (DisCo)

Disinformation and fake news are circulating around the world about the corona pandemic. Especially on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, people share news that have not been checked, so that it spreads rapidly. "We are not only fighting a pandemic, but also an info-demie," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General. Researchers at Fraunhofer SIT want to meet this challenge in the DisCo project from the ATHENE research area Secure Digital Transformation in Health Care (SeDiTraH).

© Ulrike Albrecht

Apple AirDrop shares more than files

ATHENE researchers from TU Darmstadt have discovered that Apple users can not only share files with each other using AirDrop. Rather, uninvited persons can also access data. The resarchers developed a solution that could replace the insecure AirDrop. Apple was informed about the privacy gap, but has not yet closed it.

© Milan Stute

ATHENE researchers reveal vulnerabilities in the Apple operating system macOs

A research team led by ATHENE scientist Prof. Matthias Hollick from the TU Darmstadt has uncovered security gaps in the tracking app "Find my iPhone?" Offered by the Apple group.

In their paper “Who Can Find My Devices?” They publish the two vulnerabilities they identified in the macOS operating system. They presented the paper at the international flagship conference for data protection technologies "PETS - Privacy Enhancing Technologies Symposium".

VeraCrypt with minor flaws

Fraunhofer SIT press relase (German):
In der kostenlosen Open-Source-Verschlüsselungssoftware VeraCrypt wurden keine gravierenden Sicherheitslücken gefunden, allerdings gibt es Verbesserungsbedarf bei der Entwicklungspraxis und der Codequalität. Das ist das Ergebnis einer Sicherheitsanalyse der Expertinnen und Experten des Fraunhofer-Instituts für Sichere Informations­technologie SIT in Darmstadt, die im Auftrag des Bundesamts für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik BSI durchgeführt wurde. Die vollständigen Ergebnisse der Analyse sind in einer Studie zusammengefasst, die von der Webseite des BSI heruntergeladen werden kann: Download der Studie

© Fraunhofer SIT

AI helps to identify illegal cultural goods

Fraunhofer SIT press release (German):
Eine zentrale Herausforderung bei der Bekämpfung des illegalen Handels mit gestohlenen Kulturgütern besteht darin, dass illegal gehandelte Objekte nur schwer zu erkennen sind. Das von der Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien geförderte Projekt KIKu – KI für den Kulturgutschutz – hat zum Ziel, die Arbeit der zuständigen Akteure, insbesondere von Zoll und Polizei, zu erleichtern: Hierzu entwickelt das Fraunhofer-Institut für Sichere Informations­technologie SIT gemeinsam mit der cosee GmbH eine App, die mit Hilfe von Künstlicher Intelligenz automatisiert Hinweise geben kann, ob beispielsweise eine antike Vase oder eine Statue aus einer Raubgrabung stammen könnte oder anders illegal erworben wurde. Das Projekt wurde gestern zahlreichen relevanten Akteuren auf dem Gebiet des Kulturgutschutzes aus Deutschland und der EU vorgestellt, die auf Einladung von Kulturstaatsministerin Monika Grütters zum 7. EU CULTNET-Treffen im Rahmen der deutschen EU-Ratspräsidentschaft zusammengekommen sind.

© Fraunhofer SIT

Data protection-friendly big-data analyses

The analysis of large amounts of data enables numerous improvements - in the fight against climate change as well as in medicine. At the same time, today's big-data analysis possibilities create entirely new risks for people's privacy. If data from different sources is combined in the analysis, it is often possible to combine supposedly anonymous data to create personal profiles, with sometimes unforeseeable consequences for the people concerned. A new study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology SIT therefore shows how big-data technologies can be used without harming the privacy of individuals. The study is aimed at users and developers of big data systems and is available for free download at https://www.sit.fraunhofer.de/reports/

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ATHENE researchers contribute to new BMBF project CYWARN

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) launches its support for consortium project “Strategie- und Technologie-Entwicklung zur medienübergreifenden Erstellung eines Cyber-Lagebilds und akteurspezifischen Kommunikation von Cyber-Warnmeldungen“, CYWARN, from 1 October set to last for 3 years, with 2 million euros. ATHENE researcher Prof Christian Reuter, head of the chair for Science and Technology for Peace and Security (PEASEC), will coordinate the joint between partners in research, development and application.