Research

Our research focuses on civilian and homeland security issues. From counter-terrorism and intelligence policies to social resilience and economic aspects of security, BIGS takes on topics that are at the center of the enduring conflict between liberty, security and prosperity. We analyze homeland security policies from a local (i.e. Brandenburg), German as well as an international perspective.
An Overview of our Publications

Ergebnisbericht: Cyberresilience-Framework. In IT-Krisen schneller agieren. (Kurz: RESI)

  • February 2025
  • Marc Arnold (Stadt Heilbronn), Dr. Gökhan Bal (ehm. Deutsche Bahn AG), Ralf Benzmüller (G-DATA), Nils Brinker (intcube GmbH), Jens Crueger, Lisa-Katharina Franzke (Cloud Resilience Lab), Sabine Griebsch (GovThings), Michael Große, Adnan Kadric, Bianca Kastl (ÖGD), Esther Kern (BIGS), Janka Kreißl (Dunkelblau GmbH & Co. KG), Klaus Landefeld (eco-Verband), Franz Lantenhammer, Doris Rehn (BSI), Sebastian Roth (envia TEL GmbH), Markus Saborowski, Julia Schütze, Vivian Simon (Buch-Autorin, Fachjournalistin), Erik Velten (BSI), Marco Zander (BSI).
  • Contribution

This report documents the workstream “Cyber resilience framework. Acting faster in IT crises” (RESI), which was carried out from December 2023 to November 2024 as part of the Cybersecurity Dialogue.

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IT-Sicherheit von Weltraumsystemen

  • April 2024
  • Esther Kern
  • Contribution

The risks of cyber attacks on space infrastructure is often underestimated. In this article, Esther Kern describes the exisiting vulnerabilities, how far-reaching the consequences of attacks can be and which […]

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RescueFly – Einsatz von dezentral stationierten Drohnen („Unmanned Aircraft Systems“, UAS) zur Unterstützung bei der Wasserrettung in schwer zugänglichen und weitflächigen Gebieten

  • March 2024
  • Joachim von Beesten, Hannes Braßel, Michael Breuß, Hartmut Fricke, Wolfram Hardt, Ariane Heller, Esther Kern, Mohsen Khan Mohammadi, Martin Lindner, Emily Pfister, Toni Schneidereit, Tim Stuchtey, Ashkan Mansouri Yarahmadi, Thomas Zeh, Sascha Zell, Thomas Zügel
  • BIGS Study Number 11
  • RescueFly

  The RescueFly project aims to make an important technical and socio-political contribution to the modernization of emergency rescue services in Germany. The use of decentrally stationed and highly automated […]

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Wie resilient ist die Bargeldversorgung im Krisenfall? (DSD)

  • June 2023
  • Esther Kern
  • Contribution
  • BASIC – Resilience of Cash Supply – Security Concepts for Emergency and Crisis Situations

In: DSD – Der Sicherheitsdienst. Fachmagazin für die Sicherheitswirtschaft, Issue 02/2023, p. 26-27. Note: The text is based on an earlier contribution to the Protector, issue 04/2023.

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Ein Sicherheitskonzept zur Stärkung der Resilienz der Bargeldversorgung in Not- und Krisenfällen

  • February 2023
  • Kirsten Wiegand, Laura Brouer, Paul Glöckner, Tim Hageney, Esther Kern, Tobias Kronberger, Johannes Rieckmann, Tim Stuchtey
  • BIGS Study Number 9
  • BASIC – Resilience of Cash Supply – Security Concepts for Emergency and Crisis Situations

For three years, the BASIC project team, coordinated by BIGS, examined the cash cycle in Germany in terms of its vulnerability and, over time, came up with recommendations on how […]

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Availability of Cash in Crisis and Emergencies – Lessons from Abroad

  • December 2022
  • Paul Glöckner, Esther Kern, Johannes Rieckmann
  • Number 11 Policy Paper
  • BASIC – Resilience of Cash Supply – Security Concepts for Emergency and Crisis Situations

In the event of a natural or man-made disaster, a power outage, or a failure of the IT and communications network, electronic payment systems can no longer function. In this […]

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