Stefan Schiffner new professor at the Department of Computer Science

"According to the General Data Protection Regulation, information about where I am and when is data that is worth protecting," explains the computer scientist. "Because it can be used to create a movement profile." And that's not all. What other information can be derived from this? What about the storage of search data? How can the data be better protected? These are all questions that Professor Stefan Schiffner is looking into. "With the little that you reveal, you often reveal everything," he says with regard to the protection of personal data and information, known as privacy in IT. "There is no such thing as absolute security. But it's all about improving." From 1 September, Schiffner will be teaching and researching as a professor in the Department of Computer Science at H-BRS with a focus on privacy and technical data protection. University President Marion Halfmann has now presented him with his certificate of appointment.

Moving from the Hamburg University of Cooperative Education

Schiffner is moving from the Hamburg University of Cooperative Education (BHH) to Sankt Augustin. While he taught all basic IT security topics in the Hanseatic city, at H-BRS he can concentrate fully on the topic of privacy, which has occupied him since his own student days. After studying computer science at TU Dresden, he completed his doctorate on privacy-friendly technologies at the University of Leuven in Belgium. He worked at TU Darmstadt before moving to Athens for four years at ENISA, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity. "It's practically the BSI for Europe," he explains. After his time in Greece, he went to the University of Luxembourg as a researcher. This was followed by a deputy professorship at the University of Münster and three years as a professor at BHH Hamburg.

Research with students on privacy

At H-BRS, Professor Stefan Schiffner now wants to teach students about privacy and at the same time drive forward research projects in collaboration with them - including through corresponding final theses. "Research in this area has a direct influence on teaching content," he says. This is because it is constantly changing due to the topicality of the subject.