Department of Computer Science

ICSP delegation visits Cybersecurity Campus Paris

Thursday 4 December 2025

Prof. Petra Haferkorn travelled to Paris from Sankt Augustin together with her colleagues Prof. Stefan Schiffner and Prof. Hannes Tschofenig as part of a delegation from the ICSP at H-BRS. The two-day trip, organised by the IHK Bonn/Rhein-Sieg, brought entrepreneurs and experts to the Cybersecurity Campus Paris in La Défense, one of Europe's leading centres for cybersecurity. The aim was to open up new perspectives for teaching, research and future cooperation.

The EU- and state-funded campus brings together key stakeholders in information security in the Greater Paris area under one roof and serves as a joint platform for innovation, training and exchange between research, administration, business and education.

Next stop: Paris – practical experience in cybersecurity

Petra Haferkorn gained particularly practical insights from Paris:

„I liked the approaches for on-site cybersecurity audits of small and medium-sized enterprises. My students and I have been invited by the director of the Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence Hub to participate in such week-long information security management audits. If I can motivate students and raise sufficient funding, I will take advantage of this opportunity next year. (Translation of the original text)”

Prof. Dr. Petra Haferkorn - Professor of Computer Science, in particular IT-Security Management

Impressive diversity and networking at Cyber Campus Paris

For Stefan Schiffner, the diversity of activities and the successful integration of the various stakeholders were particularly noteworthy:

„I think that both the breadth of Cyber Campus Paris's offering and the integration of the various stakeholders is impressively successful. From six-month training courses for students to courses for IT professionals to on-site examinations and consultations for local authorities and small and medium-sized enterprises, there are many organised and informal opportunities to get in touch with each other and exchange ideas about cybersecurity. (Translation of the original text)”

Prof. Dr. Stefan Schiffner - Professor of Computer Sciences, Privacy and Data Protection Technologies

French expertise, German partners – strong connections

Hannes Tschofenig also emphasises the importance of professional and personal exchange:

„I enjoyed the exchange with the French specialists as well as networking with the German company representatives. For example, I got to know Martin Böhne, the chairman of Cyber Campus Bonn-Rhein-Sieg. As soon as it is clear whether and what budget the German government will make available to Cyber Campus Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, we will consider which joint projects we will tackle. (Translation of the original text)”

Prof. Dr. Hannes Tschofenig - Professor of Computer Science, in particular Network Security

Together with a representative of the Chaos Computer Club, Tschofenig is considering developing joint training events.

The exchange with Cybersecurity Campus Paris strengthens H-BRS' international network in the field of information security and could form the basis for new cooperation projects — including with Cyber Campus NRW (CCNRW), the Institute for Cyber Security & Privacy (ICSP) and international partners.

Despite the tight schedule, all three professors draw a very positive conclusion:

‘Overall, the two-day trip was very exhausting, but if even just some of the planned projects can be realised, it will have been well worth it.’