Zinaida Benenson University of Mannheim Room A 5,6 / B 138 Phone 49 621 181 2556 E-Mail

This is my old homepage. My new homepage, along with me, can be found at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, at the Chair for IT Security Infrastructures.

[Publications] [Professional activities] [Teaching] [Projects] [CV]

I was a postdoc at the Laboratory for Dependable Distributed Systems at the University of Mannheim, Germany till July 2011.
Now I continue with my research at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, at the Chair for IT Security Infrastructures.

My research interests are:

• dependability and security issues in distributed systems, especially in wireless sensor networks and in pervasive computing,
• and also human factors in computer security (usability, psychology).

Publications (till 2010)

[Book chapters] [Journals] [Conferences and workshops] [Competition awards] [Theses] [Technical Reports]

Book chapters

• Zinaida Benenson, Peter M. Cholewinski, Felix C. Freiling:
  Vulnerabilities and Attacks in Wireless Sensor Networks.
  In: Wireless Sensors Networks Security. J. Lopez, J. Zhou (Eds.), Cryptology & Information Security Series (CIS), IOS Press 2008.

• Zinaida Benenson, Ulrich Kühn, Stefan Lucks:
  Cryptographic Attack Metrics.
  In: Dependability Metrics. I. Eusgeld, F. C. Freiling, R. Reussner (Eds.),
  GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, LNCS 4909, Springer 2008.

• Zinaida Benenson: Lower Bounds.
  In: Algorithms for Sensor and Ad Hoc Networks. D. Wagner, R. Wattenhofer (Eds.),
  GI-Dagstuhl Research Seminar, LNCS 4621, Springer 2007.

Journals

• Zinaida Benenson, Erik-Oliver Blaß, Felix C. Freiling:
  Attacker Models for Wireless Sensor Networks.
  In: it-Information Technology, 52 (6), Oldenbourg Verlag 2010.
  
• Markus Bestehorn, Zinaida Benenson, Erik Buchmann, Marek Jawurek, Klemens Böhm, Felix C. Freiling:
  Query Dissemination in Sensor Networks - Predicting Reachability and Energy Consumption.
  In: Ad Hoc & Sensor Wireless Networks 9(1), Old City Publishing 2009.
  

Conferences and workshops

• Ioannis Krontiris, Zinaida Benenson, Thanassis Giannetsos, Felix C. Freiling, Tassos Dimitriou:
  Cooperative Intrusion Detection in Wireless Sensor Networks.
  6th European Conference on Wireless Sensor Networks (EWSN), 2009.
  

• Frank Werner, Zinaida Benenson:
  Formally Verified Authenticated Query Dissemination in Sensor Networks.
  2009 IEEE International Symposium on Performance Evaluation of Computer and Telecommunication Systems (SPECTS), 2009.

• Joachim Wilke, Martina Zitterbart, Zinaida Benenson, Felix C. Freiling:
  Authentic Query Dissemination and Data Aggregation in Wireless Sensor Networks.
  6th International Conference on Networked Sensing Systems (INSS, Demo Session), 2009.

• Zinaida Benenson, Markus Bestehorn, Erik Buchmann, Felix C. Freiling, Marek Jawurek:
  Query Dissemination with Predictable Reachability and Energy Usage in Sensor Networks.
  7th International Conference on AD-HOC Network&Wireless (ADHOC-NOW), 2008.

• Matthias R. Brust, Adrian Andronache, Steffen Rothkugel, Zinaida Benenson:
  Topology-based Clusterhead Candidate Selection in Wireless Ad-hoc and Sensor Networks.
  2nd IEEE/Create-Net/ICST International Conference on Communication System Software and Middleware (COMSWARE), 2007.

• Zinaida Benenson, Peter M. Cholewinski, Felix C. Freiling:
  Advanced Evasive Data Storage in Sensor Networks.
  8th IEEE International Conference on Mobile Data Management (MDM), 2007.

• Andreas Achtzehn, Zinaida Benenson, Christian Rohner:
  Implementing Agreement Protocols in Sensor Networks.
  2nd IEEE International Workshop on Wireless and Sensor Networks Security (WSNS), 2006.

• Zinaida Benenson, Felix C. Freiling, Birgit Pfitzmann, Christian Rohner, Michael Waidner:
  Verifiable Agreement: Limits of Non-repudiation in Mobile Peer-to-Peer Ad Hoc Networks.
  3rd European Workshop on Security and Privacy in Ad hoc and Sensor Networks (ESAS), 2006.

• Zinaida Benenson, Milan Fort, Felix C. Freiling, Dogan Kesdogan, Lucia Draque Penso:
  TrustedPals: Secure Multiparty Computation Implemented with Smart Cards.
  11th European Symposium on Research in Computer Security (ESORICS), 2006.
  For details, see the TrustedPals homepage.

• Zinaida Benenson, Felix C. Freiling, Ernest Hammerschmidt, Stefan Lucks, Lexi Pimenidis:
  Authenticated Query Flooding in Sensor Networks.
  21st IFIP International Information Security Conference SEC 2006, May 2006, Karlstad, Sweden.
  

• Alexander Becher, Zinaida Benenson, Maximillian Dornseif:
  Tampering with Motes: Real-World Attacks on Sensor Networks.
  3rd International Conference on Security in Pervasive Computing (SPC), April 2006, York, UK.
  

• Zinaida Benenson, Felix C. Freiling, Ernest Hammerschmidt, Stefan Lucks, Lexi Pimenidis:
  Authenticated Query Flooding in Sensor Networks. (Work-in-progress paper)
  PerCom 2006, March 2006, Pisa, Italy.
  For details, see the full version of the paper above.
  

• Zinaida Benenson, Felix C. Freiling, Thorsten Holz, Dogan Kesdogan, Lucia Draque Penso:
  Safety, Liveness, and Information Flow: Dependability Revisited.
  ARCS 2006 Workshops, March 2006, Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
  

• Alexander Becher, Zinaida Benenson, Maximillian Dornseif:
  Tampering with Motes: Real-World Attacks on Sensor Networks. (Work-in-progress paper)
  Sicherheit 2006 Conference.
  For details, see the full version of the paper above.
  

• Zinaida Benenson, Gernot Fabeck:
  Efficient Decision Fusion with Performance Guarantees in Sensor Networks. (Poster)
  European Workshop on Wireless Sensor Networks (EWSN) 2006.
  

• Zinaida Benenson, Peter M. Cholewinski, Felix C. Freiling:
  Simple Evasive Data Storage in Sensor Networks.
  First International Workshop on Distributed Algorithms and Applications for Wireless and Mobile Systems
  (DAAWMS), November 2005, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
  

• Zinaida Benenson:
  Authenticated Queries in Sensor Networks.
  2nd European Workshop on Security and Privacy in Ad hoc and Sensor Networks (ESAS), July 2005, Visegrad, Hungary.
  

• Zinaida Benenson, Nils Gedicke, Ossi Raivio:
  Realizing Robust User Authentication in Sensor Networks.
  Workshop on Real-World Wireless Sensor Networks (REALWSN05), June 2005, Stockholm, Sweden.
  

• Zinaida Benenson, Felix C. Gärtner, Dogan Kesdogan:
  Secure Multi-Party Computation with Security Modules.
  Sicherheit 2005 Conference 2005, April 2005, Regensburg, Germany.
  More details in the Technical Report.
  

• Zinaida Benenson, Felix C. Gärtner, Dogan Kesdogan:
  An Algorithmic Framework for Robust Access Control in Wireless Sensor Networks.
  2nd European Workshop on Wireless Sensor Networks (EWSN), 2005.

• Zinaida Benenson, Felix C. Gärtner, Dogan Kesdogan:
  User Authentication in Sensor Networks.
  INFORMATIK 2004, GI Jahrestagung, 2004.
  

Competition awards

• Zinaida Benenson, Mesut Günes, Martin Wenig:
  PerSens: Personality Sensors. [Paper] [Poster]
  EWSN 2006, February 2006, Zurich, Switzerland.
  Our contribution to the Sentient Future Competition didn't win one of the 3 awards, but it was selected into 9 highly commended entries out of 79 entries.
  

• Zinaida Benenson: Small Child Care
  This is my contribution to the Application Competition of the Dagstuhl Summer School on Sensor Networks and Smart Objects. My work won the first prize. It was selected among 28 entries.
  

Theses

• Zinaida Benenson: Access Control in Wireless Sensor Networks.
  PhD Thesis, University of Mannheim, 2008. Advisors: Prof. Felix C. Freiling (University of Manhheim) and Prof. Adrian Perrig (Carnegie Mellon University)
  

• Zinaida Benenson: Verifiable Distributed Consensus.
  Diploma Thesis, University of Trier, 2002. Supervisor: Dr. Birgit Pfitzmann, IBM Zurich.

Technical Reports

• Zinaida Benenson, Andreas Dewald, Felix C. Freiling:
  Presence, Intervention, Insertion: Unifying Attack and Failure Models in Wireless Sensor Networks.
  Technical Report, University of Mannheim, 2009.

• Joachim Wilke, Frank Werner, Markus Bestehorn, Zinaida Benenson, Simon Kellner and Erik-Oliver Blaß:
  Vergleichbarkeit von Ansätzen zur Netzwerkanalyse in drahtlosen Sensornetzen.
  7th GI/ITG KuVS Fachgespräch "Drahtlose Sensornetze", 2008.

• Zinaida Beneneson:
  Secure Group Communication for Mobile Peer-to-Peer Groups: A Survey.
  Technical Report, Uppsala University, 2006.

• Zinaida Benenson, Felix C. Freiling:
  On the Feasibility and Meaning of Security in Sensor Networks.
  4th GI/ITG KuVS Fachgespräch "Drahtlose Sensornetze", 2005.
  
  

Professional activities

• Co-Chair: 2nd Workshop on Sensor Networks, collocated with 35th Annual GI Conference INFORMATIK 2005, Bonn, Germany

• TPC Member
  • IEEE MASS 2011
  • ADHOC-NOW 2011
  • OPODIS 2010
  • SICHERHEIT 2010 (GI Tagung Sicherheit – Schutz und Zuverlässigkeit)
  • invited to TPC of WiSec 2010 (3rd ACM Conference on Wireless Network Security) -- unfortunately, the invitation landed in the spam filter and was discovered only when it was too late! ;-)
    
  • WRAS 2009 (Second International Workshop on Reliability, Availability, and Security)
  • IWASN 2007 (2nd International Workshop on Advances in Wireless Sensor Networks)
  • SSDSN 2007 (1st International Workshop on Security and Survivability in Distributed Sensor Networks)
  • REALWSN 2006 (2nd ACM Workshop on Real-World Wireless Sensor Networks)

• Reviewer (selection)
  • Conferences: SSS (2009, 2008), EWSN (2009, 2008, 2006), ACM EuroSec 2009, ACM MobiSys 2006, IFIP SEC 2006, Euro-Par 2005, DISC 2004, IEEE Security&Privacy 2004
    
  • Journals: IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, IEEE Selected Areas in Communications, Elsevier Theoretical Computer Science, Elsevier Computer Communications, MDPI Sensors, Wiley Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing
    

Teaching

Courses

• Winter term 2010: Introduction to Pervasive Computing lecture (2 contact hours) and exercise (2 contact hours), University of Mannheim

• Spring term 2010: Dependable Distributed Systems, lecture (2 contact hours) and exercise (2 contact hours), University of Mannheim

• Winter term 2009: Introduction to Pervasive Computing, co-teaching with Ioannis Krontiris, lecture (2 contact hours) and exercise (2 contact hours), University of Mannheim

• Winter term 2007: Organization and supervision of the conference seminar Verification in Sensor Networks together with the Logic and Formal Methods Group (Prof. Peter H. Schmitt), Karlsruhe University (TH). This seminar took the form of a "real" conference, including peer reviewing of the submissions by the TPC and students.

• 2003 - present: Supervision of student research projects, seminars, diploma and master theses at RWTH Aachen, Uppsala University and University of Mannheim

Supervised diploma theses

• Karl Yankovic: Advanced Strategies for Sampling in Sensor Networks. (in progress)
• Björn Händler: Sampling in Sensor Networks. (in progress)
• Markus de Brün: Authenticated Query Forwarding in Wireless Sensor Networks.
  Diploma Thesis, RWTH Aachen, 2008.
  
• Marek Jawurek: Quality Aware Probabilistic Flooding of Sensornet Queries.
  Diploma Thesis, RWTH Aachen, 2008.
  

Projects

Zuverlässige Informationsbereitstellung in energiebewussten ubiquitären Systemen (ZeuS) -- Reliable information provision in energy-aware ubiquitous systems
(Funded by the BW-FIT program of the Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg, 2006 - 2009)
The aim of this project was development of communication protocols with gracefully degrading, probabilistic security and reliability for wireless sensor networks. The developed protocols should enable the system users to trade-off security and reliability of the information against energy consumption of the protocols.

Security in Mobile Peer-to-Peer Systems
(Funded by VINNOVA, the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems, project leader Dr. Christian Rohner, 2004-2006)
The purpose of the project was developing new security solutions for mobile peer-to-peer networks. These are infrastructure-less networks of small personal devices that collaborate on behalf of a particular application.

Short CV

• 1/2009- present: Postdoc at Laboratory for Dependable Distributed Systems (Prof. Felix C. Freiling), University of Mannheim

• 12/2008: PhD in Computer Science
  Thesis: Access Control in Wireless Sensor Networks
  Advisors: Prof. Felix C. Freiling, University of Mannheim and Prof. Adrian Perrig, Carnegie Mellon University

• 8/2006 - 12/2008: Research Assistant at Laboratory for Dependable Distributed Systems (Prof. Felix C. Freiling, nee Gärtner) at University of Mannheim, Germany

• 2/2006 - 7/2006: Project Assistant at Communications Research Group (Prof. Per Gunningberg), Uppsala University, Sweden

• 12/2002 - 12/2005 PhD Student at DFG graduate school Software for Mobile Communication Systems at RWTH Aachen, advisors: Prof. Otto Spaniol and Prof. Felix C. Freiling, nee Gärtner

• 10/1998 - 11/2002: Student worker in the Ada-Lovelace-Project. Developed and taught a series of workshops in theoretical computer science for secondary school "Computer science without computer"

• 10/1997 - 11/2002: Studies of Computer Science with minor in Computational Linguistics at University of Trier.
  Diploma thesis: Verifiable Distributed Consensus,
  Advisor: Dr. Birgit Pfitzmann, IBM Zürich

• 9/1991 - 6/1996: Studies of mathematics to be a teacher at Moscow Pedagogical Lenin University

• 9/1981 - 6/1991: Secondary school 1567 in Moscow