Through the combined use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), sensors in the visible, infrared and multispectral ranges as well as laser scanners, an effective and efficient acquisition of information in inacessible terrains is achieved in real time. This reduces the risk for responder organisations and the resources required to gather information in the event of crises, disasters and damage situations.

Aerial information gathering offers substantial advantages in the framework of the Austrian National Crisis and Disaster Management (SKKM – Staatliches Krisen- und Katastrophenschutzmanagement) as it enables both fast attainment of the overall operational picture and in-depth insight at particular points of interest.

Within the KIRAS project AREAS (Aerial search & Rescue support and supErvision of inAccessible terrainS) the Centre for Computers and Law analyses the legal aspects, especially data protection with regards to the use of UAVs and also supports the interoperability of civil and military operatives by concilitating technical and legal aspects.

MARCONI takes on the expectations and challenges that radio faces today: engaging users and offering personalised experiences on various digital platforms. The project aims to enable fully interactive and personalised radio solutions, integrating broadcast radio with digital and social media. A service-driven software platform will be developed to easily manage listener interaction automation for incoming text, audio, picture or video content by using AI technologies and novel multimedia content analysis technology.

The Centre for Computers and Law develops the legal framework regarding data protection (GDPR) and media and intellectual property law and also supports the development of data management systems and consent management.

The KIRAS project Smart Identification aims at supporting the fight again organised human trafficking on a national and European scale. To support crime fighting in this area, information on exodus routes or routes of human trafficking as well as on the identity of victims is required. The public authorities face the problem of non-identificability if only uncertain and doubtful information is available. The project focuses on the analysis of exodus routes, the detection of unaccompanied minors and the identification of victims using if possible their documents and their smartphones. While smartphones collect and contain a lot of data, which can be used for these legitimate purposes, the executed measures will need to be in compliance with the subject’s right to privacy and data protection. The Centre for Computers and Law analyses the legal framework and supports the development of a concept that is in compliance with the right to privacy and data protection.

The KIRAS project ACCSA (Austrian Cyber Crises Support Activities) aims to develop comprehensive training, exercise and evaluation concepts for all CKM (cyber crisis management) stakeholders to prepare for cyber crises and thereby reducing response times and error rates in the event of a real cyber crisis. Even in “traditional” crisis and catastrophe management regular exercises (for example, the practice of a chemical accident) have proved to be a feasible means to enable all parties involved to practice. However, a similar use of training and exercise concepts, especially for CKM with technical and organizational support is not yet available. Current exercises often focus on non-dynamic and linear exercises. Technical products for training are currently only commercially offered, available only to members of certain specialist circles and not open to the public.

The CKM concepts, processes, and methods are supported by the implementation of a CKM Toolbox, a system for software-supported training and exercise that spans over several CKM communication levels (e.g., engineering, management, first responder, policy makers).

Building on the results of past projects, the Centre for Computers and Law supports the development of this CKM Toolbox by analysing legal bases for possible measures of the various actors within cyber crisis management, including developments in jurisprudence and legislation on a European and national level.

Within the KIRAS project CySiVuS (Cyber Security for Transport Infrastructure- and Road Operators) cyber security aspects of a comprehensive road transport infrastructure system which will be more used intensively by interconnected cars in future, are analysed from the perspective of the road operators. The project partners are developing a reference architecture also taking into account the legal framework. The Centre for Computers and Law analyses the legal issues which have to be considered within risk assessment and will also develop a comprehensive compliance analysis which will cover relevant legal and social aspects of the reference architecture.

The KIRAS project DARKNET (Darknet Analysis) aims to develop privacy-aware automated analysis of underground marketplaces and restricted overlay-networks. The main legal issues with these underground forums are the exchange of illegal goods, criminal or terrorist activities or propaganda, which also include criminal activities regarding states security like the acquisition of botnets for attacks on critical infrastructure. The focus of the project therefore lies in the development of privacy-preserving machine learning methods which comply with the right to privacy and exclude uninvolved third parties. The Centre for Computers and Law analyses the legal aspects of this project.

The KIRAS project PASA (Public Warning and Alert System for Austria) develops a novel, holistic concept for the warning and alerting of the Austrian population using an interdisciplinary approach. This will improve the effectiveness of civil protection and the efficiency of first responder organizations greatly, which highly depends on the level of cooperation or interference by the civil population and which can e.g. help to optimize the pace of evacuations, actively seek shelter in times of imminent danger or help to offload intensively used road infrastructure sections. In the current paradigm, the warning and alerting of the civil population in Austria is performed solely in coarse granularity via sirens and via the Austrian broadcasting companies, whereas the current state-of-the-art would enable to reach the population timely and geographically accurately via multiple communication channels (e.g., mobile phones). This would enable the authorities to provide the population with the locally relevant information in real time, opening the potential of optimizing the safety of the civil population as well as its cooperation with the first responder organizations and thus increasing both the organizations’ efficiency of operation and the general level of public safety. The envisioned system will precisely reflect the complex legal framework of the Austrian federal system as well as that of Data Protection and E-Privacy. To this end, PASA will continuously evaluate the compatibility of the envisioned solutions with the given legal framework.

The KIRAS project INTERPRETER (Interoperability in Disaster Management of the next Generation) is part of the Centre of Computers and Law’s research in the legal aspects of Disaster Management. INTERPRETER utilizes the latest software design methods in order to accomplish automated data exchange between the military and civil command and control systems, thereby ensuring the preservation of the semantic integrity of data. Furthermore, based on its modular structure, INTERPRETER enables generic extensibility of its interoperability functionalities, which should ensure that the system can be productively utilized for many years to come. In addition, the project has developed and evaluated an extended concept for IT-supported inclusion of the civil population in the process of crisis and disaster management and in this way addresses the corresponding willingness and preferences of the citizens. The Centre for Computers and Law focuses on the legal framework of the developed architecture including data sharing within disaster management through web-applications or apps.