Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security

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Issue 2/2025

Innovating with Security - Newsletter of Fraunhofer AISEC

Dear Tobias Steinhäußer,

With the High-Tech Agenda Germany, the German Federal Government is focusing on six key technologies to significantly increase Germany’s innovative and economic strength. Three of these technology fields – artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and microelectronics – have been among the core competencies of Fraunhofer AISEC for years, enabling it to make an important contribution to the implementation of the agenda’s ambitions.

Achieving the Agenda’s digital goals depends on a solid foundation of secure and resilient IT systems. With its research and development projects, Fraunhofer AISEC is driving forward trustworthy AI, preparing IT systems for the quantum age, securing digital industrial processes and strengthening the resilience of digital infrastructures with sound security analyses.

In this issue of our newsletter, we present selected examples:
• Trustworthy AI is the focus of a new discussion paper from the Scientific Working Group of the National Cyber Security Council, which examines the security-relevant opportunities and risks of generative AI and highlights the importance of trustworthy platforms. Fraunhofer AISEC is the lead author.

• To ensure cybersecurity in the quantum age, we are developing post-quantum cryptography and crypto-agile approaches for the automotive industry in the PARFAIT project – as protection against future threats.

• To ensure secure digital identities, we are contributing our security expertise to the technical design of the EUDI wallet, a key future topic for the German Federal Government.

• As a partner in the ATLAS-L4 project, we have implemented cybersecurity analyses for autonomous trucks and developed protection concepts for a secure, driverless transport system.

• Our joint study with the Association of German Mechanical Engineering Institutes (VDMA) sheds light on the current state of industrial security.

We wish you an insightful read!

Best regards,
Claudia Eckert and Georg Sigl

PS: If you would like to delve deeper into our cybersecurity research, we recommend reading our 2024 Annual Report.

		Trustworthy AI Discussion paper by Claudia Eckert for the German Scientific Council on Generative AI

Generative AI holds enormous economic potential: it can strengthen cybersecurity, but also creates new risks. A new paper highlights the risks and opportunities, and stresses that only trustworthy AI – robust, transparent and non-discriminatory – will be able to realise its full potential. Rapid model development opens up opportunities for sustainable, secure solutions for industry, research and administration in Germany.

Contact: Claudia Eckert

To the paper [in German]

		The TRUSTED Project Trusted Data Spaces for AI-Based Innovations

Data is the key to AI, but its use requires the highest security standards. Over the next three years, the EU’s TRUSTED project will develop a prototype data space for personal medical data that complies with the requirements of the GDPR and GAIA-X. The goal: a trusted service for federated learning. Fraunhofer AISEC is contributing state-of-the-art cybersecurity and data protection technologies to the project. The consortium is to receive around four million euros from the Horizon Europe programme.

Contact: Christian Banse

To the article

		The DSgenAI Project Bavaria and the European Union are Funding Generative AI to the Tune of 30 Million Euros

Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Hubert Aiwanger, presented funding worth 30 million euros in Erlangen for research into generative AI models in digital signal processing and the development of the necessary AI computing infrastructure. Three Bavarian Fraunhofer Institutes are developing new AI solutions under the leadership of Fraunhofer IIS. Fraunhofer AISEC is contributing state-of-the-art cybersecurity technologies.

Contact: Philip Sperl

To the article [in German]

Blog post
How to Build Datasets Able to Successfully Detect Audio Deepfakes

Deepfakes threaten democracy, individuals and businesses through disinformation, fraud and intellectual property theft. AI detection systems can help, but their effectiveness depends on high-quality training data. This article explores how suitable datasets for robust detection can be developed – despite the constant development of deepfake technologies.

Contact: Nicolas Müller

To the blog post

		The PARFAIT Project Post-Quantum Cryptography and Crypto-Agility for the Automotive Sector

The PARFAIT project by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) is developing post-quantum cryptography and crypto-agility for connected, automated vehicles. Fraunhofer AISEC is researching security strategies, analysing vulnerabilities and optimising encryption to future-proof the automotive industry. Practical solutions are expected to be available by 2027.

Contact: Marian Margraf

To the article [in German]

		PQC-Update networking event Seven Key Advances in Post-Quantum Cryptography

The EU aims to make digital encryption fully quantum-safe by 2035. The Fraunhofer AISEC’s PQC Update 2025 networking event shows that much remains to be done to integrate PQC into systems and protocols despite advances in algorithms. Overall, however, seven key advances in PQC can be identified.

Contact: Marian Margraf, Daniel Loebenberger

to the article

Blog post
Multi-Party Computation in the Head – an Introduction

Since 2016, the US National Institute for Standardization (NIST) has been searching for digital signatures that are secure even against future quantum computers. One particular approach is called Picnic, which uses a special procedure based on well-researched encryption and verification methods. This has led to other variants such as BBQ, Banquet and Feast. The post explains the basics of the methods and how Fraunhofer AISEC uses them for forgery-proof digital signatures.

Contact: Thomas Bellebaum, Markus Bever

to the blog post

		Digital Identity Cybersecurity Expertise for the Implementation of the Digital EUDI Wallet in Germany

Starting in 2027, EUDI wallets are intended to enable access to services in administration, healthcare, mobility, etc. across Europe as a secure, user-friendly digital identity technology. The Agency for Disruptive Innovations (SPRIND) is implementing the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) project in Germany. Fraunhofer AISEC is a cybersecurity partner. With a focus on user-friendliness, the project lays the foundation for acceptance and efficient digital processes in society and the economy.

Contact: Marian Margraf

to the article

		The ATLAS-L4 project Driverless Trucks on the Road Become a Reality

After three years, the ATLAS-L4 project has successfully concluded: twelve partners from industry, science and infrastructure have made autonomous trucks on the road a reality. Around 150 engineers from MAN, Knorr-Bremse, Leoni, Bosch, Fernride, Fraunhofer AISEC, TU Munich, TU Braunschweig, TÜV SÜD, Autobahn GmbH and WIVW worked together on automated transport on motorways.

Contact: Bartol Filipovic

to the article

Blog post
Parsing X.509 Certificates: How Secure Are TLS Libraries?

X.509 certificates secure internet communication, but differences in parsing, i.e. the breaking down of program data for verification by different TLS libraries, pose risks. A Fraunhofer AISEC study analysed six widely used parsers with genuine certificates and found security-relevant inconsistencies. This post presents the key findings and explains why companies should audit their cryptographic libraries.

Contact: Tobias Specht, Sebastian N. Peters, Stefan Tatschner

to the blog post

		Industrial Security VDMA Study – Progress in Cyber Resilience, But No Reason to Sound the All-Clear

According to the Industrial Security study by VDMA and Fraunhofer AISEC, the mechanical and plant engineering sectors are improving their cyber defence. More and more companies are investing in digital security measures, yet attacks still cause millions in damage. Small businesses in particular need to upgrade. Social engineering and phishing remain the biggest threats, followed by human error and sabotage.

Contact: Bartol Filipovic

to the study

Blog post
Gateway to the Danger Zone: Secure and Authentic Remote Reset in Machine Safety

Digital manufacturing brings with it greater efficiency and new business models but, until now, security incidents have required on site intervention. A new remote reset system combining future-proof cryptography with robust security design closes this gap and enables authentic, secure remote resets.

Contact: Nikolai Puch, Sebastian N. Peters

to the blog post

		Personnel news acatech Executive Board elects Claudia Eckert as President of the German Academy of Engineering Sciences

Claudia Eckert, Director of Fraunhofer AISEC and Professor at the Technical University of Munich, has assumed the office of Scientific President of acatech, effective 1 July 2025. She was unanimously elected by the Executive Board and forms a tandem of science and industry with Co-President Thomas Weber.

Contact: Claudia Eckert

to the article

Publication
AI, PQC, and Knowledge Transfer: AISEC 2024 Annual Report Published

Digital transformation requires new cybersecurity strategies. Fraunhofer AISEC supports companies and government agencies in implementing regulations such as the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and NIS-2 with practical solutions – from cloud certifications and quantum-safe systems to trusted microelectronics. In 2024, the focus was on post-quantum cryptography, protection against generative AI and knowledge transfer in the Cybersecurity Learning Lab.

Contact: Tobias Steinhäußer

to the annual report

		Current career opportunities Join our team

Apply now to become part of our team. Fraunhofer AISEC, with locations in Garching near Munich, Berlin and Weiden in the Upper Palatinate, supports digital transformation in key industries such as the automotive industry, mechanical engineering, aviation and healthcare with internationally recognised cutting-edge research.

to our job vacancies

Contact

Tobias Steinhäußer
Head of PR & Marketing
Fraunhofer-Institut für Angewandte und Integrierte Sicherheit AISEC
Lichtenbergstr. 11
85748 Garching
Phone: +49 89 3229986-170

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The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is the leading organization for applied research in Europe. Its research activities are conducted by 72 institutes and research units at locations throughout Germany. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft employs a staff of more than 26,600, who work with an annual research budget totaling more than 2.5 billion euros. Of this sum, more than 2.1 billion euros is generated through contract research. Around 70 percent of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s contract research revenue is derived from contracts with industry and from publicly financed research projects. International collaborations with excellent research partners and innovative companies around the world ensure direct access to regions of the greatest importance to present and future scientific progress and economic development.

Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security AISEC
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Phone +49 89 322 99 86-0

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Copyright:
© Gradiant, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft e.V., Fraunhofer AISEC, Felix Adler, ATLAS-L4 Konsortium, freepik, Bernd Müller