- to contribute to understanding the foundations of, and finding practical solutions for, known and emerging information security problems,
- to foresee and identify future issues in information security,
- to advance the theory of information security and cryptography as scientific disciplines,
- to teach our core competences to university students as well as other academic and non-academic audiences,
- to be a center of competence and a contact point for research institutions, the business sector, government administrations, the media, and the public at large, in all questions related to information security,
- to think about the impact of information technology on the society and the economy,
- and to enjoy the pleasure of research and teaching motivated students.
Information is becoming a crucial if not the most important resource
of the economy and the society at large. Information differs radically
from other resources; for instance, it can be copied without cost, it
can be communicated at the speed of light, and it can be destroyed
without leaving traces. This poses new challenges for the protection
of this new resource and of intellectual property in
general. Information security, in particular cryptography, is an
enabling technology that is vital for the development of the
information society. Our missions are