Assistant Professor Giovanni Apruzzese from the Chair of Data & Application Security presented the paper “Do users fall for real adversarial phishing? Investigating the human response to evasive webpages” at the APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime) in Barcelona. The paper was co-authored with Ajka Draganovic, Javier Aldana Iuit (Avast Software), Savono Dambra and Kevin Roundy (both Norton Research Group).

Phishing websites are ubiquitous, and countermeasures based on static blocklists offer little protection against such threats. Therefore, state-of-the-art machine learning (ML) methods are now being used to detect phishing websites. These techniques have shown promising results when integrated into phishing detection systems (PDS). However, ML methods are not perfect, and some trial versions of phishing websites can even bypass production-grade PDS.

In their work, the researchers investigated whether real phishing websites that evade commercial ML-based PDS represent a genuine problem or merely a nuisance. They found that some well-designed phishing websites can deceive most participants — even IT experts — while others are easily recognised by most users. The study is relevant for practitioners as it enables prioritisation of phishing websites that can fool both machines and humans, and it also benefits from the contribution of globally renowned cybersecurity companies (Avast and Norton).

The paper is based on the thesis of Ajka Draganovic, a student in the Master’s programme in Information Systems at the University of Liechtenstein, and was awarded second place in the “Best Paper” competition by the eCrime’23 committee. The symposium was attended by more than 100 participants from academia and industry.

More information about the presentation and the event is available at: https://apwg.org/event/ecrime2023/

On 22 January 2024, the Chair of Business Criminal Law, Compliance and Digitalisation hosted the thematic evening “Boundaries Between Administrative and Criminal Law.” The event marked the conclusion of the FFF project of the same name, led by Mag. Dr. Günther Schaunig, BA, and coordinated by Prof. Dr. Konstantina Papathanasiou, LL.M. The evening provided an introduction to the boundaries between administrative and criminal sanctions.

In both the Principality of Liechtenstein and the DACH countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), state responses to crime “oscillate” between criminal law and administrative law. This division affects large parts of business criminal law in Liechtenstein, particularly tax criminal law. The consequences of this distinction extend to both substantive criminal law and criminal procedure law.

Against the backdrop of the criminal law’s role in protecting legal interests, the thematic evening shed light on the specifics of the criminal justice system in the Principality of Liechtenstein, such as the classification of offences into felonies, misdemeanours, and contraventions, along with their corresponding legal consequences. Given the considerable number of laws and regulations related to business criminal law in Liechtenstein, participants quickly identified points of reference to their own fields of practice.

A thematic focus was placed on tax criminal law. Here, criminal liability essentially arises from the endangerment or violation of tax obligations. The strict obligations to cooperate in the regular tax procedure have no equivalent in tax criminal proceedings, as the accused may not be compelled to self-incriminate. In the context of criminal proceedings, in addition to the judicial code of criminal procedure, the long-standing Act of 21 April 1922 on General National Administration may also be relevant, as it contains special provisions on administrative criminal proceedings.

The event was met with great interest, attracting participants from authorities, law firms, and financial service companies, underscoring the high relevance of the topic for the Principality of Liechtenstein. The evening concluded in a relaxed atmosphere with an apéro.

Starting in the summer semester of 2024, Anna Heringer will once again be teaching at the School of Architecture. Since the summer semester of 2019, she has repeatedly served as a lecturer in design at the University, and following a successful selection process, she has now been appointed Visiting Professor for two semesters.

Anna Heringer is an architect and a pioneer in contemporary earthen architecture. She first gained recognition for designing and building the METI School in Rudrapur, Bangladesh, a project she conceived and realized as her diploma thesis. Since then, Heringer has further developed her award-winning architectural approach—rooted in local building materials and local labor—through construction projects primarily in Asia and Africa, as well as through teaching architecture in Stuttgart, Linz, Vienna, and at ETH Zurich. Her central aim is to gradually build and highlight social and economic connections in the planning and construction process through the personal involvement of the architect. Her works have been exhibited in numerous museums worldwide, including MoMA in New York and the Venice Biennale. She has received, among others, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the AR Emerging Architects Award, and the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture. UNESCO has conferred upon her an honorary professorship in Earthen Architecture, Building Cultures, and Sustainable Development.

With her strong international profile and renowned buildings across the globe, Anna Heringer brings valuable expertise to the University of Liechtenstein, strengthening a strategically important area in the development of buildings using sustainable materials.

From March 20 to 23, 2024, the Chair of Economic Criminal Law, Compliance, and Digitalization held the “Anti-Money Laundering” intensive course for the third time.

The legitimate financial and economic cycle is often exploited for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes. Such criminal activities can damage a company’s reputation and undermine the integrity of the entire financial center. MONEYVAL evaluates the effectiveness of its member states’ systems in combating these crimes. The “Anti-Money Laundering” intensive course provides comprehensive knowledge for the prevention and prosecution of money laundering, organized crime, and terrorist financing.

Over the course of twelve lectures, the program addressed a wide range of topics related to the phenomenon of money laundering. The course opened with Henrik Stefan, CAMS (Senior Regulatory Compliance Officer, LGT Bank AG, Vaduz), delivering a lecture on “MONEYVAL – Data & Facts.”

Next, Mag. iur. Philipp Röser (FMA Liechtenstein) provided insights into current international regulatory developments and the role of the Financial Market Authority.

The subsequent lecture by Dr. Elena Scherschneva, expert and business consultant in the field of AML and CTF prevention (AML-Compliance e.U., Bad Fischau-Brunn), had to be postponed. Dr. Scherschneva will address, in a separate online session, the reporting obligations in cases of “suspected money laundering, terrorist financing, or organized crime,” as well as the consequences of (non-)reporting suspicious activities, illustrated with real-life case examples.

The second day focused on “Criminal Liability Risks in Case of Violations of the Due Diligence Act.” Mag. iur. Daniel Gehri (FMA Liechtenstein) spoke about the administrative criminal provisions of the SPG, with a focus on distinguishing between intent and negligence.

Dr. iur. Michael Jehle (Princely Court of Liechtenstein) followed with remarks on the judicial criminal provisions of the SPG, before concluding the day together with Mag. iur. Wolfgang Walch (Economic Crime Unit, Liechtenstein National Police) with a “tour d’horizon” from a practitioner’s perspective.

The third day began with a lecture on the criminal provisions concerning organized crime and terrorist financing, presented by course leader Prof. Dr. Konstantina Papathanasiou, LL.M. (Chair of Economic Criminal Law, Compliance, and Digitalization, University of Liechtenstein).

Next came a lecture on criminal liability risks under § 165 of the Criminal Code, delivered by Prof. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Severin Glaser, Professor of Financial and Economic Criminal Law at the Institute of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law, and Criminology at the University of Innsbruck. Following this, Univ.-Ass. Dr. Jonas Divjak (Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, University of Vienna; from April 1, Postdoctoral Researcher at the local Chair of Economic Criminal Law, Compliance, and Digitalization) presented on the topic of “Data Protection Criminal Law.”

The fourth and final day of the intensive course focused on “Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism in the Digital Age.” Lic. oec. publ. Sébastien Caduff (épiphany AG) began with a lecture on “Cryptocurrency as a Challenge and Opportunity.”