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fit4sec-Workshop on AI in Horizon 2020 “Secure Societies” on the 17th of February 2020 in Berlin

On Monday, the 17^th of February 2020, BIGS will host a fit4sec consortium training workshop on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the context of the calls for proposals of the European Security Research Framework Programme Horizon 2020 “Secure Societies” (2018-2020).

In this fit4sec workshop we want to bring together experts from industry, academia, civil society and public bodies – in particular LEAs – to address the specific challenges and opportunities in the field of AI . Each session assembles multiple perspectives to jointly identify key challenges, pressing knowledge gaps and best practices in this field. The final strategic session synthesizes results of the presentations and debates, in an attempt to potentially complement some of the consortia in the making. 

Should you be interested in participating, please do let us know by the 31st of January what you would like to contribute to a possible consortium in the field of AI (AI01-2020, AI02-2020, AI03-2020) via caroline.vdheyden(at)bigs-potsdam.org.

OSiMa -
Organization and Regulation of the Civil Security Market in Germany

In academic literature and in public discourse often the assumption can be found that the protection of the  society from terrorism, crime or natural disasters is a public good, which due to its nature has to be provided and financed by the public sector. Though, since years there is a trend towards increased private provision of protection in order to achieve security. Security in this connection is not to be understood as the absolute absence of threat, but as a function of threat and protection. While in Germany the public inflation-adjusted spending stagnates, the private security business keeps growing at a faster pace than the economy as a whole (Gummer & Stuchtey, 2014). Here we observe a relative shifting of public towards private provision of protection, which one can term privatization in the wider sense. Moreover, a privatization in the more narrow sense can be identified in a few realms of security. Luggage inspection and screening of persons at airports is one of the most obvious examples.

Besides state-controlled actions to protect economy and society, private enterprises are required to contribute themselves to safeguarding their value added chains. At the same time, in an open economy such value added chains are cross-frontier, thus the protection has an international dimension. Besides deploying private security service providers, many companies develop internal concepts in order to protect integrity and resilience of their organizations against white-collar crime. This entails comprehensive Compliance Management Systems (CMS), which manifest features of privatization of security in the wider sense. For instance there are internal investigations which sometimes replace that of prosecuting attorneys. The danger of circumventing process principles in accordance with the rule of law cannot be precluded in this context.

While the description if this trend and its extent by means of individual indicators (e.g., growth in sales, number of persons employed) has been subject to earlier examinations and studies, the underlying causes and the consequences for organizational and regulative  embodiment of the privatization process has been hardly analyzed in Germany. To date, a comprehensive and interdisciplinary analysis of the good “protection” has yet to be conducted, by means of which political leadership, administration, security business and society can evaluate diverse courses of action.

Within the framework of the topic “Civil Security – New Economic Aspects” from the program “Research for Civil Security 2012-2017” the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funds the consortium project “Organization and Regulation of the Civil Security Market in Germany” (OSiMa). Coordinated by the Brandenburg Institute for Society and Security (BIGS), we partnered with the Viadrina University Frankfurt (Oder), the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena (FSU Jena), the University of Potsdam, the Federal Association of the German Security Industry (BDSW), and the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (FOKUS).

The OSiMa consortium analyzes collaboratively and multi disciplinarily which forms of the good “security” exist, and how these should be organized and financed. It is of particular interest which contribution the private security business can provide from a viewpoint of regulatory policy. Furthermore, the framework shall be described within which new services and forms of organization of protection and security supplied by the security business can develop.

For further information on OSiMa please visit the dedicated project website: www.sicherheitsmarkt.org

Sicherheitswirtschaft

Die Sicherheitswirtschaft leistet neben den öffentlichen Institutionen einen wichtigen Beitrag zum Schutzniveau der Gesellschaft. Allerdings gab es über diese Branche kaum Daten — bisher fehlten eine allgemeine anerkannte und klare Definition der Sicherheitswirtschaft sowie eine nachvollziehbare Datenquelle, um vergleichbare Eckdaten zu erfassen.

Am BIGS versuchen wir einen Beitrag zu leisten, die Sicherheitswirtschaft als Branche besser zu verstehen. Dabei definieren wir die Sicherheitswirtschaft wie folgt:

Die Sicherheitswirtschaft umfasst alle Unternehmen, die Produkte und Dienstleistungen zum Schutz von kritischen Infrastrukturen sowie zum Schutz vor Kriminalität, Wirtschaftsspionage und Terrorismus und zur Bewältigung von Krisen und (Natur-) Katastrophen anbieten. Unter dem Begriff der Kriminalität werden Alltagskriminalität, Gewaltkriminalität, organisierte Kriminalität und Internetkriminalität zusammengefasst.

Auf der Grundlage dieser Definition erhebt das BIGS seit 2012 jährlich Daten zur Sicherheitswirtschaft in Deutschland, um den Umfang, die Entwicklung und Trends der Branche zu erfassen und zu analysieren. Die dabei gewonnene Datenbasis bietet für Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft gleichermaßen die Möglichkeit, ein fundiertes Verständnis über den Beitrag der Sicherheitswirtschaft für das Schutzniveau Deutschlands und Trends in dieser Branche zu erlangen sowie deren Mehrwert für die deutsche Gesellschaft zu analysieren.

Zum Ausbau der bestehenden Analysebasis wird ein Unternehmenspanel aufgebaut, für welches wir fortwährend Teilnehmer suchen. Wenn Sie Interesse an einer Teilnahme haben, finden Sie hier weitere Informationen.

Analysen zu der Thematik wurden unter anderem im Rahmen des WISIND-Projektes publiziert.

Economic and Social Aspects of Cyber Security

BIGS is particularly dedicated to the economic and social dimensions within the research field of cyber security. Although cooperation between government, business and science regarding cyber security is improving on the national as well as international level, there is still urgent need for action. This is where BIGS comes into play and uses its organizational and research capacities to tackle various aspects of cyber security from a cross-disciplinary perspective.

These are, firstly, the social and structural changes that result from advancements in information and communication technology. Secondly, questions about constraints put upon various institutions, organizations and actors of cyber security are examined in the interdisciplinary setting of the Brandenburg Institute for Society and Security. Aside from issues of internet governance, BIGS also deals with the challenges imposed on the Germany economy by interconnectedness and digitalization. The focus here is on cooperation between business on the one hand and government actors and institutions on the other hand, as well as the safety of highly interconnected industries in the area of critical infrastructures.

In order to discuss these cyber-security issues, BIGS organizes together with Hasso Plattner Institute the annual Potsdam Conference of National Cyber Security. This conference aims to bring together stakeholders from politics, administration, and economy in a neutral place of science in order to jointly analyze operating options in the area of cyber security, to discuss defense mechanisms and their technical feasibility, as well as to provide a forum for mutual exchange and networking.

Publications in this field address, for example, the importance of civilian cyber security (BIGS Essence: Civilian Cyber security: Cybercrime between reality and risk) or illuminate cyber security under the heading of "digital hygiene".

Terrorism

Terrorism and politically/religiously motivated violence have a wide ranging impact on the state, society and citizens, be it under the aspect of social peace, economic effects, societal resilience and individual security.

The BIGS is working on different aspects of this complex challenge, including structures, strategies and objectives of terrorist actors, countermeasures and concepts, radicalization and de-radicalization programs, counter-terrorism legislation and the field of tension between liberty and security.

The BIGS is part of the "Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN)" of the European Commission which aims on fostering exchange between practitioners, policy makers and academics.

HERMENEUT

Cyber security breaches preying on companies’ vulnerable networks, are already part of day-to-day business. Today, to put it bluntly, a mere distinction is made between companies that have been hacked and those unaware of having been hacked. Classical risk analysis methodology, which aims at protecting and covering tangible assets, is inadequate with regard to modern-day cyber-attacks.

For digitalized businesses, intangible assets include the reputation of said business, intellectual property, technological expertise, and brand value, all of which require new insurance strategies and risk management. To foster a culture of inclusive risk management by both individual organizations and complete sectors, ”Enterprises’ Intangible Risks Management via Economic Models Based on Simulation of Modern Cyber-Attacks – HERMENEUT” assesses various organisations’ vulnerabilities and their corresponding at-risk assets, focusing on economic issues of cybersecurity. In this context, answers will be sought to the following questions:

- What are the implications or explicit business models of different types of cyber-attacker? What are their incentive structures, and how can these be affected?
- What are the short-, medium- and long-term risks and consequences for companies following a cyber-attack for both tangible and intangible assets?
- Do other types of attacks, beyond data breaches, severely impact intangible and tangible assets?
- What influence do publications of exploits have on the probability of attacks?
- Does the probability of an attack depend on variables such as the type of business, the market size, or the market power?

HERMENEUT’s cyber-security cost-benefit approach combines integrated assessment of companies’ vulnerabilities and the likelihood of these vulnerabilities with an economic model for intangible costs. This model delivers a quantitative estimation of the risks for an organisation or a business sector, as well as investment guidelines for mitigation measures. The project is part of the EU-funded Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. BIGS, together with ten partners from Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Israel and Italy, will help developing an innovative methodology and an advanced micro- and macro-economic model, making it available to the European research community.

fit4sec – Building European Consortia for Security Research

fit4sec is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the initiative “Deutsche Antragsteller fit für Europa” (German Applicants fit for Europe). As the “Centre of Excellence for Security and Technology” (2013-2016) the project aimed to pool the expertise in the German security sector and to improve the initial position of German enterprises (in particular SMEs) for participating in European security research projects. Since 2017 the project – Building European Consortia for Security Research (,,Aufbau Europäischer Konsortien für die Sicherheitsforschung”) – serves as a community and technological-information sharing platform, specifically affording German participants necessary coping mechanisms to better support quality end-user orientation in European security research (Horizon 2020 and FP9).

The core team of fit4sec comprises the IABG in Ottobrunn and Berlin, Brandenburg Institute for Society and Security (BIGS) in Potsdam, Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (FOKUS) in Berlin and the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich (UniBwM) – in new conjunction with the Technisches Hilfswerk (THW), the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW).

Within fit4sec the work of BIGS focused on three key components: the socio-scientific aspects in civil security research, in particular in the field of societal resilience; capacity-building within the European security research sphere; as well as on how security research findings can be applied efficiently in academic and vocational training, in order to help counteract the future shortage of qualified personnel in the civil security sector. The particular focus now is to enhance community and consortia building within the field of civil security research through the organization and implementation of workshops, in order to successfully form German-European research alliances together with academic partners and end-users for Horizon 2020.

The key findings of the first round on "Capacity Building for European Security Research" are documented in the final report. The findings on the key topics “security education” and “societal resilience” in the field of civil security were published as follows:

• Below, Alexis (2016): Scanning the Landscape of Security Management Education in Europe. BIGS Policy Paper No. 6, Brandenburgisches Institut für Gesellschaft und Sicherheit.

• Below, Alexis (2015): Berufliche Aus- und Weiterbildung in der zivilen Sicherheit, BIGS Standpunkt zivile Sicherheit No. 2, Brandenburgisches Institut für Gesellschaft und Sicherheit.

• Baban, Constance P. (2014): Gesellschaftliche Resilienz – Grundlagen für die zivile Sicherheitsforschung, BIGS Standpunkt zivile Sicherheit No. 6, Brandenburgisches Institut für Gesellschaft und Sicherheit.

Further information on fit4sec (becoming a partner) can be found in the project website (fit4sec.de).

Website: www.fit4sec.de

Integration at eye level – Peer mediation of values for refugees

Persons who have had to flee their home countries and are now attempting to navigate their new environment are looking for support, orientation, help and advice. The question as to where they will find their place within German society and of what tangible advantages the free and democratic order holds for their lives is difficult to realise. Existing strategies to mediate gaps in societal values mainly rely on a lecturing approach, while linguistic and cultural hurdles obstruct the sharing of knowledge and experience.

The project aims at an empathic value mediation by means of creating a platform for dialogue on equal footing. Within this framework, intercultural cohabitation on the basis of shared values can be discussed comprehensively and practically oriented. Refugees are supported in their long-term integration into the host society with the help of “peers“. Integrated persons with a migration background will be trained and empowered to act as imparters of knowledge and experience.

The innovative value of the pilot project lies, on the one hand, in the peer group approach, carried out in a workshop format. On the other hand, theatre education approaches in group work have proven to foster the development of soft skills, such as conflict prevention by means of communication. The initiation of reflection processes aims at raising awareness of the concrete advantages of the liberal-democratic value system for the participants‘ own lives. Therefore, the curriculum includes hot topics such as extremism of different kinds (Islamism, right-wing extremism etc.), in order to strengthen the newcomers’ tolerance of diversity and build their resilience vis-à-vis extremist ideologies.

The pilot project is carried out in cooperation with the European Foundation for Democracy (EFD) and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ), within the framework of the federal programme “Demokratie leben!”, as an approach for the prevention of radicalization.

We are searching for participants in our workshops. Click on the language for more information in arabic or german.

The ITEA-3 Project CyberFactory#1 (CF#1) aims at designing, developing, integrating and demonstrating a set of key enabling capabilities to foster optimization and resilience of the Factories of the Future (FoF). It will also propose preventive and reactive capabilities to address cyber and physical threats and safety concerns to FoF. Thereby, it will supplement and develop existing enabling technologies of the Industry 4.0 in relevant areas. The project will embrace technical, economic, human and societal dimensions at once and is interdisciplinary with 35 partners from eight countries, which are pilot users, suppliers as well as research and academic organizations.

The German consortium is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and is composed of the following partners: Cassidian Cybersecurity GmbH, Aviawerks International GmbH, Brandenburgisches Institut für Gesellschaft und Sicherheit gGmbH (BIGS), Bombardier Transportation GmbH, Fraunhofer Institut für Angewandte und Integrierte Sicherheit (AISEC), Hochschule für Technik und Wissenschaft Berlin (HTW), InSystems Automation GmbH, OFFIS.

BIGS is the leader of the task Impact Management and is within this task responsible for Community Management as well. Hereby, it coordinates with the consortium partners the publication and utilization of the project results. Additionally, BIGS contributes to the definition of misuse cases by identifying possible cyber scenarios, in particular the ones with intentional character and potential damaging impacts on the FoF. Furthermore, it analyzes the embedding of the FoF within its eco-system as well as human behavior in a changing and increasing digitized and mechanized factory landscape as a contribution to eco-system modelling and human behavior modelling.