History of the Chair

The Chair of Privacy and Data Security (Datenschutz und Datensicherheit, DuD) was established in 1993 at the Faculty of Computer Science at TU Dresden. Prof. Dr. Andreas Pfitzmann held the chair until his death in 2010; his name is inextricably linked with the development and international visibility of the chair. In 2014, Prof. Dr. Thorsten Strufe succeeded him and became the chair holder. Under his leadership, the chair was involved in major research initiatives, including the Collaborative Research Center HAEC and the Cluster of Excellence CeTI. Since 2023, Prof. Dr. Florian Tschorsch has held the position. With his appointment, and as part of TU Dresden's internationalization strategy, the chair was renamed Privacy and Security (P&S). He brings new momentum to the fields of trustworthy and resilient architectures and communication protocols.

The chair was one of the first in the German-speaking countries with an explicit focus on privacy—not just IT security. To this day, it is characterized by a strong interdisciplinary orientation and pioneering research in the area of Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs). Numerous graduates and researchers from the chair have gone on to hold professorships or take on key roles in data protection authorities, industry, and civil society organizations.