Sergej Dechand new Professor of Computer Science

Dechand studied computer science at TU Braunschweig, where he completed his Bachelor's and Master's degrees. During his subsequent doctorate, he came to the University of Bonn with his doctoral supervisor at the end of 2013, where he helped set up the Institute for Usable Security and Privacy. Almost incidentally, he became a founder. In a research project, he and two colleagues worked on methods for automated software testing to uncover security vulnerabilities in computer programmes - they hit a nerve with this so-called fuzzing. The three improved user-friendliness for software developers, built a prototype and founded the company Code Intelligence from the University of Bonn in 2018.

Focus on application security

For seven years, Dechand was the face of the company as Managing Director. He then switched back to technology and went to Bochum as a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Security and Privacy, where he continued his research. He continues to collaborate with the MPI and his old company, but his main focus is now on his professorship at H-BRS. Current research questions are incorporated into his teaching, as is his practical experience from working with large companies. 

His focus at H-BRS is on application security, i.e. how software can be protected against attacks. "It's about how to test software, but also how to attack and break it, because that's the only way to better understand and protect against security vulnerabilities," says Professor Dechand. His topics are as practical as they are current and relevant, whether online banking, critical infrastructure or the apps on your smartphone, software is used everywhere that can become the target of attacks. "I co-founded a company myself and have seen in industry where software security can be a problem. I would like to pass on these perspectives to the students," he says.