International Summer School on Cybercrime and Forensic Computing 2025

International Summer School on Cybercrime and Forensic Computing

Tuesday, June 3 – Friday, June 6, 2025
Nürnberg, Germany

Background and Scope

Information technology has caused a new form of crime to emerge: cybercrime. It is incurring an increasing cost on modern society and is arguably threatening the stability of our economic system. Traditional law enforcement approaches appear to struggle with this new development.

Nürnberg Castle at night. Image courtesy of Adrian Valenzuela under CC-BY-2.0, rescaled from original

However, with new technologies also come new forms of criminal investigation, like large-scale data analysis and police trojans for covert surveillance. The effectiveness of such methods routinely raises questions regarding their effects on the constitutional rights of affected citizens. The inherent bounds of national law complicate matters further.

The International Summer School on Cybercrime and Forensic Computing is a one-week intensive course at the intersection of computer science and criminal law. It provides students the opportunity to learn and gain inspiration from world experts in digital forensics and criminal law. The summer school aims at Master students in computer science, forensic science, criminal justice, law or related subjects. It is not required to bring specific prior knowledge. As an interdisciplinary summer school, courses will be aimed at novices in the area.

Confirmed Speakers

We are delighted to announce the following list of renowned speakers (in alphabetical order):

  • Eoghan Casey, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
    Eoghan Casey is an internationally recognized expert in digital forensic investigation and cyber risk mitigation. He has extensive experience on a wide range of cybercrime investigations, and has delivered expert testimony in civil and criminal matters in the United States, Canada, and international tribunals. Dr. Casey is editor and coauthor of the Handbook of Digital Forensics & Investigation and he wrote the foundational book Digital Evidence & Computer Crime, now in its third edition. He serves on the Board of Directors of DFRWS.org and has a PhD in Computer Science from University College Dublin.
  • Catherine Jasserand, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
    Catherine holds a PhD from the University of Groningen in the field of biometrics and privacy, an LL.M in IP and New Technology law from UC Berkeley, and a Master’s degree in European law from Université Panthéon-Sorbonne. She worked in various EU institutions (European Parliament, European Central Bank) as well as in the private sector. Before joining the University of Groningen in 2014, she was a researcher at the University of Amsterdam (IViR), where she did research on IP (online intermediaries’ liability, copyright and public sector information) and media law. Catherine is qualified as a lawyer in France and in the United States (New York Bar). In February 2024, she joined the University of Groningen, Faculty of Law as an assistant professor where she will research the intersection between AI, biometrics, and fundamental rights. In parallel, she has set up her own consultancy company to provide trainings and participate in research projects.
  • Simson Garfinkel, BasisTech LLC, USA
    Simson L. Garfinkel has published articles in both the academic and popular press for many years in the areas of computer security, digital forensics and privacy. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), holds a PhD in Computer Science from MIT. He was previously an Associate Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School and spent 15 years as a computer scientist within the US Department of Defense, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the US Census Bureau, and the US Department of Homeland Security.
  • Marie-Helen Maras, John-Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, USA
    Marie-Helen Maras, Professor and Director of the Center for Cybercrime Studies, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, USA, author of numerous books, including Real Criminology (Oxford University Press), Cybercriminology (Oxford University Press) and Computer Forensics: Cybercriminals, Laws, and Evidence (Jones and Bartlett), among others.
  • Radina Stoykova, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
    Radina (Adi) Stoykova is assistant professor in technology law at the University of Groningen (RUG). She holds a dual PhD in law and information security from RUG and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. She is specializing in reliability of digital evidence, AI-generated evidence, and digital forensics standardization.

Mock Trial

A signature event within this summer school is a mock trial in which participants jointly solve a small case and defend it in court. The trial will be held on the last day of the summer school in the same court house where the famous Nürnberg war trials were held 1945-1946. Presentations will be judged and winning teams will receive prizes. Details on the mock trial and how to prepare can be found below.

Call for Participation

The target audience are Master or Graduate students in a field related to the topic of the summer school.

The deadline for registration is Monday, April 14, 2025. Application materials consist of a CV, a transcript of records and letter of motivation which explains, how the event matches your interests and fits into your career plans. The number of participants is limited.

To apply for participation, please register using the following website: https://user-surveys.cs.fau.de/index.php?r=survey/index&sid=384196&lang=en

If you have any questions, please contact us via email  <cybercrime-summerschool@fau.de>.

Participants interested in this summer school may also be interested in the announcement of open PhD positions in the topical area of the summer school at FAU.

Locations and Fees

The participation is free of charge. Additionally, the summer school provides full board and lodging to all accepted participants free of charge. Travel costs to/from Nürnberg have to be covered by the participants. All locations are within walking distance of eachother:

  • The main presentation venue is Haus Eckstein which is located at Burgstraße 1-3, 90403 Nürnberg.
  • Participants will stay at the Hotel Holiday Inn – the Niu Leo  (Am Leonhardspark 6, 90439 Nürnberg). Check-in time is Monday, June 2, 2025, between 17:00 and 19:00. People arriving before 17:00 can leave their luggage at the hotel and start to explore the town.
  • The mock trial will be held in courtroom 627 of Nürnberg district court (Oberlandesgericht Nürnberg, Fürther Straße 110 90429 Nürnberg).

Program

All times are local time (time zone is CEST). Tutorial/Lecture Sessions are up to 3,5 hours including breaks.

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Presentation venue: Haus Eckstein, lecture room E.01 (ground floor).

  • 9:00-9:15 Welcome to Nürnberg by Felix Freiling and Hans Kudlich (FAU, representing the organizing RTG 2475 „Cybercrime and Forensic Computing“)
  • 9:15-12:30 Session 1: Eoghan Casey, session topic „Handling Error and Uncertainty in Forensic Computing“
  • 12:30-14:00 lunch break
  • 14:00-17:30 Session 2: Marie-Helen Maras, session topic „Introduction of IoT Evidence in Court“
  • 19:00 Welcome reception at Hexenhäusle, at your own costs.
    • Vestnertorgraben 4, 90408 Nürnberg

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

  • 9:00-12:30 Session 3 will be held jointly by Radina Stoykova and Catherine Jasserand and cover two areas:
    • Radina Stoykova: „Fair trial and the AI act in criminal investigations and digital forensics“
    • Catherine Jasserand: „The EU regulation on the use of biometrics in law enforcement (deep fakes, face recognition)“
  • 12:30-14:00 lunch break
  • 14:00-16:30 Mock Trial preparation session, moderated by Felix Freiling (FAU): group assignment and time for hands-on interaction
  • Dinner at your own costs

Thursday, June 5, 2025

Friday, June 6, 2025

  • 9:00-12:30 Mock Trial presentations and award ceremony in Courtroom 627 at Nürnberg District Court, moderated by Christoph Safferling (FAU)
    • We meet 8:30 at the entrance of the courthouse. There will be a security check on entry, please bring a personal identification document! Mock trial begins 09:00, please be on time. Walking distance from Eckstein is 2,8 km. You can use public transportation, ideally subway U1 (target stop is Maximilianstrasse).

Event ends latest at 12:30.

Details on the Mock Trial and How to Prepare

Details will be added later.

Places to Go

Here are possibly helpful suggestions for typical local bars/restaurants/beer gardens in case you are hungry or thirsty in the evenings (no claim of completeness):

  • Wanderer, Beim Tiergärtnertor 2-6
  • Finca & Bar Celona, Vordere Insel Schütt 4
  • Alex, Hauptmarkt 10
  • Rote Bar, Peter-Vischer-Straße 3
  • O’Sheas Irish Pub, Wespennest 6
  • Hexenhäusle, Vestnertorgraben 4
  • Hausbrauerei Altstadthof, Bergstraße 19
  • BALKON Nürnberg, Königstor 2
  • Vintage Bar, Irrerstraße 5
  • Blume von Hawaii, Weinmarkt 16

Using Public Transport in Nürnberg

Nürnberg has well-developed public transport with underground trains (U-Bahn), trams (Straßenbahn) and buses (Bus). Details regarding connections can be queried online on the website of the Nürnberg Public Transport (VGN). The closest stations to Haus Eckstein are „Lorenzkirche“ (for underground) and „Burgstraße“ (for bus). Most places in central Nürnberg are within walking distance.

Organizers

Felix Freiling

Lena Reinfelder

with support from Christine Stief, Sara Kasapoglu and Leila Khayati.

Questions

Please direct all questions to <cybercrime-summerschool@fau.de>

Thanks

This event is supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) as part of the Research and Training Group 2475 „Cybercrime and Forensic Computing“ (grant number 393541319/GRK2475/2-2024).