Goethe University Frankfurt and Cornell’s IC3 Forge partnership to Advance Cybersecurity Research
Frankfurt,germany & New York City,NY – Goethe University Frankfurt and the Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts (IC3) at Cornell Tech have announced a new partnership aimed at strengthening transatlantic cooperation in cybersecurity research. The collaboration will leverage the strengths of both institutions to address shared global security challenges.
ATHENE, Germany’s national research center for applied cybersecurity – with which Goethe University is affiliated – will be a key partner in the initiative. Founded in 2019 and operating as a research center of the Fraunhofer Society, ATHENE is now Europe’s largest cybersecurity research center, focusing on impactful, mission-oriented research for government, industry, and society.
IC3, based at Cornell Tech’s Jacobs Institute in New York City, is a leading academic research consortium dedicated to the scientific progress and practical request of blockchain technologies. It unites interdisciplinary researchers and students from over a dozen universities, with expertise spanning cryptography, AI, distributed systems, and technology policy. IC3 has a proven track record of groundbreaking research in areas like smart contract security, blockchain protocols, Trusted Execution Environments, and decentralized finance.
According to a representative from ATHENE, a member of it’s board of directors and a professor at goethe University’s Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, the partnership is a “strategic step to strengthen ATHENE’s international commitment and integrate European cybersecurity research into key North American networks.” They highlighted IC3’s expertise in technology and policy as complementary to ATHENE’s applied research capabilities.
Prof. Ari Juels, Co-Director of IC3 and Weill Family Foundation and Joan and Sanford I. Weill Professor at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, echoed this sentiment, stating the collaboration reflects a “shared commitment to advancing cutting-edge research in cybersecurity and AI.” He emphasized the potential for exceptional opportunities in areas such as cryptography, blockchain security, and responsible AI through the combined expertise of the two institutions.
The partnership aims to foster deeper transatlantic scientific cooperation and jointly tackle global security challenges. Further facts about the collaboration can be obtained from Prof. dr. Haya Schulmann at Goethe University Frankfurt (shulman@em.uni-frankfurt.de) or through the websites of ATHENE (https://www.athene-center.de/) and IC3 (initc3.org).
