International Summer School on Cybercrime and Forensic Computing 2022

International Summer School on Cybercrime and Forensic Computing

Tuesday, June 7 – Friday, June 10, 2022
Nürnberg, Germany

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

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. 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.

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.

Post-Event Announcements

Thanks to everybody participating in the Summer School! Here are some official images taken by Vincent Haupert that can be used according to CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

The panel of international experts (f.l.t.r. Christopher Hargreaves, Marie-Helen Maras, Christoph Safferling and Simson Garfinkel) participated as „judges“ in the Mock Trial at the International Summer School on Cybercrime and Forensic Computing held in Nürnberg between June 7 and 10, 2022. In the environment of courtroom 627 of the Nürnberg District Court teams battled over the interpretation of a piece of digital evidence, as final highlight of the week.

Panel at Mock Trial

The winners of the Mock Trial were the following two teams: Prosecution (Team 4, image left, f.l.t.r.) consisting of Vishal, Lisa Marie Dreier, Jonka Winkle and Luca Brambrink, and Defense (Team 5, image right) consisting of Alexander McCoy, Mehmet Selim Kartal, Pauline Nöldemann, Wei-Rong Cheng and Céline Vanini. Congratulations!

Team Prosecution  Team Defense

Some Post-Event Feedback Statements from Participants

„This is one of the best summer school I have attended during my course of studies. It was fascinating because participants were selected based on their diverse backgrounds. The speakers‘ multidisciplinary approaches were remarkably suitable for the summer school’s objective. I enjoyed the environment and the opportunity to network with young and early-career researchers.“
„This Summer school was by far the best experience I’ve had during my time at University. The presentations were absolutely amazing. I made a bunch of new friends and I would love to join again!“
„Amazing opportunity to learn about digital forensics and meet students and faculty.“
„A great mix of awesome talks, social & hands-on activities and the possibility to discuss tough questions with experts.“
„Learned new techniques, developments and future of digital forensics. Very well planned and organised! Thanks for the wonderful opportunities.“

Speakers

  • Simson Garfinkel, Senior Data Scientist, US Department of Homeland Security. Simson is author of the „bulk_extractor“ program and co-author of „Practical UNIX and Internet Security“ (O’Reilly, 2003), and the maintainer of the Digital Corpora website
  • Anita Hazenberg, Director Innovation Directorate at INTERPOL (IGCI – Singapore)
  • Marie-Helen Maras, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, USA, author of numerous books, including „Cybercriminology“ (Oxford University Press, 2016) and „Computer Forensics: Cybercriminals, Laws, and Evidence“ (Jones and Bartlett, 2014)
  • Christoph Safferling, Head of the International Criminal Law Research Unit (ICLU) at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Member and Vice-President of the Advisory Board of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, will lead the mock trial
  • Felix Freiling, Professor at Department Informatik of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), spokesperson of the Research Training Group „Cybercrime and Forensic Computing“ at FAU, will briefly introduce the area of digital forensic science and is responsibe for the technical side of the mock trial.
  • Jan Peter van Zandwijk is forensic scientist at the Department of Digital and Biometric traces of the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) in The Hague, The Netherlands. He will present an interactive session on ‚Data2activity: the evidential value of digital traces from phones and wearables for activities in the physical world‘
  • Christopher Hargreaves is a Lecturer at the University of Oxford and an expert in the reliable analysis of file systems and an experienced instructor on all aspects of digital forensics. He will give a crash course on file system analysis both for novices and experts in the area

Call for Participation

The target audience are Master or Graduate students in a field related to the topic of the summer school. The number of participants is limited. To participate, please send your application (CV, transcript of records, letter of motivation) via email to <summer-school-cybercrime@lists.informatik.uni-erlangen.de> by Monday, April 18, 2022 (deadline has passed). 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 (see map below):

There will be a social program on Thursday afternoon and evening (see below).

The summer school is located directly in the center of Nürnberg, with easy access by train, airplane, and public transportation:

Program

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

Check-in time at the youth hostel is Monday, June 6, 2022 between 17:00 and 19:00 in the lobby of the youth hostel. People arriving earlier can leave their luggage at the youth hostel. People arriving after 19:00 on Monday please contact the organizers. Note that Monday June 6, 2022 is a bank holiday in Germany.

People arriving on Monday June 6, 2022, can gather outside of the youth hostel around 19:00 to explore the city.

Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Presentation venue: Haus Eckstein, lecture room E.01 (ground floor). Lunch is served at Rathaustreff (the cafeteria of the town hall at Fünferplatz 2, 90403 Nürnberg, in walking distance of Eckstein, directions will be given)

  • 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: Anita Hazenberg (Interpol): Innovation and digitalization in global policing: A roadmap for action
  • 12:30-14:00 lunch break
  • 14:00-17:30 Session 2: Christopher Hargreaves (University of Oxford): Introduction to File System Analysis (not only) for Beginners
  • Dinner at the youth hostel
  • ~19:00 Welcome reception at Hausbrauerei Altstadthof (Bergstrasse 19, 90403 Nürnberg), at your own costs.

Wednesday, June 8, 2022

  • 9:00-12:30 Session 3: Jan Peter van Zandwijk (Netherlands Forensic Institute): Data2activity: the evidential value of digital traces from phones and wearables for activities in the physical world
  • 12:30-14:00 lunch break
  • 14:00-17:30 Mock Trial preparation session, moderated by Felix Freiling (FAU): group assignment and time for hands-on interaction
  • Dinner at the youth hostel

Thursday, June 9, 2022

Friday, June 10, 2022

  • 9:00-12:30 Session 5: Simson Garfinkel, (US Department of Homeland Security): Digital Forensics Past and Future
  • 12:30 lunch break
  • 14:00-17:00 Mock Trial presentations and award ceremony in Courtroom 627 at Nürnberg District Court, moderated by Christoph Safferling (FAU)
    • We meet 14:00 at the entrance of the courthouse. There will be a security check on entry, please bring a personal identification document! Mock trial begins 14:15, please be on time. Walking distance from Eckstein is 2,8 km. You can use public transportation, ideally subway #u1, example connections are in this PDF (see below regarding costs).
    • Members of jury panel: Simson Garfinkel, Christopher Hargreaves, Marie-Helen Maras, Christoph Safferling

Event ends latest at 17:00.

Details on the Mock Trial and How to Prepare

The mock trial will involve a piece of evidence (a copy of a hard disk) and an expert witness report regarding that hard disk and a specific accusation made by the prosecution („posession of illegal rhinographic images“). You will work in groups to check the claims  made by the expert witness regarding the evidence. Every group will be assigned either to the prosecution or the defense. From this viewpoint, your task is to prepare a maximum 10 minute oral presentation (no slides) as part of the final speech (German: Plädoyer) during the trial that assesses the value of the evidence in the case. Presentations will be judged according to technical soundness and legal usefulness.

For maximum fun and learning experience in the mock trial some members of your team should have the following software available:

The evidence (hard disk copy) and evaluation report is now available at https://faui1-files.cs.fau.de/public/summer-school/ The SHA256 hashes of the two files are:

a37ae11f02b661a14b546e93b7df92c6c78b4392296d59fc892b97358d63aafc exhibit_45_28_2015.img
d38360130c3cb8b652a4977015bd5af4f1d61ce48447afcb7bec8383b03ecccc report_45_28_2015.pdf

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.

Single fare tickets for public transport costs EUR 2,75. If you plan to reach the social events on Thursday and the mock trial on Friday with public transport, you might consider purchasing the „9-EURO-Ticket“, a special offer that lets you take all public transport and local trains in Germany within one calendar month for just 9 EUR. Please consider purchasing the ticket in advance, e.g. at the website of Deutsche Bahn. The 9-EURO-Ticket is bound to a specific month. Make sure you choose June 2022.

Organizers

Christian Riess
Felix Freiling

with support from Christine Stief, Sara Kasapoglu, Leila Khayati, Lena Voigt, Lisa-Marie Dreier, Maximilian Eichhorn and Immanuel Lautner.

Questions

Please direct all questions to summer-school-cybercrime@lists.informatik.uni-erlangen.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/GRK2475/1-2019).