Five years ago a working group devoted to IT security was founded at the Institute of Computer Science. Bundesdruckerei has endowed a new visiting professorship to work in the group. By continuing the endowed professorship, both Bundesdruckerei and Freie Universität Berlin emphasize the high priority given to research on electronic identities. Ulrich Hamann of the Bundesdruckerei said, "Digital identities are an essential part of everyday life. Now is the time to explore and develop innovative processes and technologies."

Professor Marian Margraf is simultaneously a professor of IT security and theoretical computer science at the University of Darmstadt. He is also a Research Fellow at the Center for Advanced Security Research Darmstadt (CASED), in which the TU Darmstadt, the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology, and the University of Darmstadt 2 combine their expertise in the field of IT security.

Professor Margraf has extensive specialized knowledge in the areas of IT security, identity documents, and research coordination. Until 2012 Margraf was the technical director of the project creating new identity cards at the German Federal Ministry of the Interior. Previously, as a program manager in the area of cryptography at the German Federal Office for Security in Information Technology, he had developed new methods for the analysis of cryptographic algorithms.

The university courses will address the technical and legal bases that come to bear on data protection, biometrics, or in e-government. Other topics include system and network security, security management, and security applications in smart cards and ID documents. The aim of the courses is to explore and develop ID-based security technologies, operate safety management systems and business processes, and to advise the government and the private sector about security issues. The visiting professorship was created for the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and will initially run for three years.

With the new visiting professorship Bundesdruckerei is continuing its positive experience during a recent collaboration with Freie Universität Berlin. In 2009 the company had already sponsored a professorship at Freie Universität in the field of "Secure Identity." This first endowed chair expired at the end of the winter semester 2013/2014 according to the agreed term of five years.

About Bundesdruckerei

The full ID l Management of Bundesdruckerei GmbH, based in Berlin, offers system solutions and services for secure identification in both the analog and digital worlds. Bundesdruckerei ranks among the leading companies in this field. Its portfolio ranges from the collection, management, and encryption of data to the production of documents and related test equipment as well as electronic solutions for border control, software for high security infrastructures, and passport and identification systems. D-TRUST, the accredited trust center of Bundesdruckerei, is one of the few providers in Germany to provide comprehensive solutions for qualified certificates, time stamp, authorization certificates, and eID services for ID cards.

In addition, Bundesdruckerei also manufactures banknotes, postage and revenue stamps, and electronic publications. Through its subsidiaries, D-TRUST GmbH, Maurer Electronics GmbH, and iNCO sp. z o.o. the Bundesdruckerei Group employs around 2,100 employees and generated sales of € 398.3 million in the 2013 financial year. Bundesdruckerei holds shares of Veridos GmbH, a provider of solutions for secure identity solutions for governments, DERMALOG's Identification Systems GmbH, the world's leading manufacturer of automated fingerprint identification systems based in Hamburg, and cryptovision GmbH, the specialist for cryptographic techniques. For further information, see www.bundesdruckerei.de/en and www.full-id-management.de/en.

About Freie Universität Berlin

Freie Universität Berlin is a leading internationally oriented university. It is one of eleven German universities selected in the federal and state governments' Excellence competition for universities, which resulted in special funding for the university's development strategy called "International Netzwork University." With more than 100 subjects in 15 academic departments and central institutes, Freie Universität offers a wide range of opportunities in the natural and social sciences and the humanities. The university has 380 professors and 31,000 students.

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Image 1 (from left to right):

Ulrich Hamann (CEO, Bundesdruckerei), Prof. Marian Margraf (Professor of Identity Management); Breakfast reception welcoming Prof. Marian Margraf to Freie Universität Berlin on January 27, 2015; No charge for reproduction when due credit is given: Copyright Bundesdruckerei GmbH

Image 2 (from left to right):

Ulrich Hamann (CEO, Bundesdruckerei), Prof. Marian Margraf (Professor of Identity Management); Prof. Dr. Peter-André Alt (President, Freie Universität Berlin); Breakfast reception welcoming Prof. Marian Margraf to Freie Universität Berlin on January 27, 2015; Copyright Bundesdruckerei GmbH