SPyCODE

Social networks, online shopping, digital payments and many other applications of modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have become common practice. Unfortunately, not all users understand the importance and complexity of protecting the data collected by modern systems, nor the impact of security leaks on their daily lives. Although security and privacy are inalienable human rights, state-of-the-art technologies are inadequate to ensure these rights, as the number of cyber-attacks show. The fundamental problem is that modern ICTs have become more and more complex, featuring multiple components, whose dependencies are crucial for security and privacy purposes. The overarching goal of SPyCode is to create the technological foundations to realize the principle of security and privacy by design, which is advocated in the new European General Data Protection Regulation. As security and privacy are central pillars in digitalization, data protection should be considered since the early design of information systems. The key idea is to protect the interfaces between the components of modern ICTs, thereby untangling their inherent complexity. This is accomplished by a new, groundbreaking methodology to secure ICTs and user data. As part of an interdisciplinary research effort, 14 projects develop and combine mathematical methods, formal logic, design approaches, cryptography, and verification techniques to provide highest data security. A unique feature of SPyCoDe is the combination of world-class basic research on this burning topic with immediate impact on society and industry. SpyCoDe is focused on a variety of core systems and applications that are being used on a daily basis in todays digital society. In particular, special attention is given to processors, mobile applications, blockchains and smart contracts. Besides new technologies, SPyCoDe will also raise and educate a generation of specialists in this crucial area. SpyCoDe unites the efforts of 5 Austrian institutions. The project coordinator is Matteo Maffei from TU Wien. The members of the research network are TU Wien (E. Andreeva, G. Fuchsbauer, L. Kovacs, M. Lindorfer, M. Maffei), Graz University of Technology (R. Bloem, M. Eichlseder, D. Gruss, S. Mangard), Institute of Science and Technology Austria (T.A. Henzinger, E. Kokoris-Kogia, K. Pietrzak), Alpen-Adria University of Klagenfurt (E. Oswald), and University of Vienna (J. Ullrich). The SpyCoDe consortium is in a unique position to implement this challenging research program with scientific excellence, academic collaboration, promoting young scientists and building a gender-balanced, diverse scientific community. The team includes worldwide experts from all core disciplines of SPyCoDe, including 7 ERC grant holders, 6 young researchers having already received prestigious awards, and over 40% being female researchers.