News

Collaboration is KEY. The launch of the (CYBER)SECURITY Network for Water Systems Management was held at CITIC (Universidade da Coruña) under the framework of the CyberH2O Cybersecurity Chair, founded by INCIBE. David Martínez represented the BCDS research group at the event, which is intended to create a nationwide cybersecurity research network. This initiative involves leading research entities in Spain, pioneers in the field, along with small and medium-sized water management companies. The network will provide continuity to the dissemination work performed by the CyberH2O chair and is expected to launch a new era of innovation for water network cybersecurity.

Our recent study has revealed widespread privacy compliance violations on websites, catching the interest of media and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), which is the most important data protection institution in Europe. Published in the Journal of Network and Computer Applications, the research used AI to analyze GDPR compliance across one million websites. The results show that nearly half use tracking cookies, and over half include tracking pixels without user consent.

The EDPS took notice of our work and invited us to a private meeting with key members to discuss our methods and findings. This has opened new opportunities for collaboration and reinforces the real-world impact of our research. For more details, read the full article here or check the news coverage.

The 25th International Conference on Transparent Optical Networks (ICTON 2025) has been hosted in Barcelona, Spain, from July 6th to 10th, 2025. This marked the third time that ICTON takes place in Catalonia, following its previous editions in Barcelona in 2005 and Girona in 2017.

Barcelona, the vibrant capital of Catalonia, is a city renowned for its rich history, stunning architecture, and vibrant culture. Situated on the northeastern coast of Spain, Barcelona offers a perfect blend of modernity and tradition. Its iconic landmarks such as the Sagrada Família, Park Güell, and the Gothic Quarter are just a few examples of the city’s architectural wonders.

Prof. David Martínez presented our novel research in optical networks entitled "AI/ML for cybersecurity and robustness in optical networks: Key opportunities and challenges". The conference was a big success!

Robustness, the ability to withstand failures and perturbations, is a critical attribute of many complex systems including complex networks.

The study of robustness in complex networks is important for many fields. In ecology, robustness is an important attribute of ecosystems, and can give insight into the reaction to disturbances such as the extinction of species. For biologists, network robustness can help the study of diseases and mutations, and how to recover from some mutations. In economics, network robustness principles can help our understanding of the stability and risks of banking systems. In engineering, network robustness can help to evaluate the resilience of infrastructure networks such as the Internet or power grids.

The goal of this half-day workshop is to bring together theoretical and applied researchers, working on the topic of robustness of complex networks. The speakers will present their latest results and will carry out a discussion on the state of the art and current open challenges for this topic. We hope the meeting will provide an informal venue for encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration.

The workshop is co-organized by the "Network Architectures and Services Group" (TU Delft) and the "Broadband Communication and Distributed Systems Group" (University of Girona, Spain). It is the fifth edition of the Delft - Girona Workshop on Robustness of Complex Networks.

Workshop link: https://www.nas.ewi.tudelft.nl/seminars/rocn2022/index.html