Competence Hub in Research in Cybersecurity & Cyber Defence

The Luxembourg Directorate of Defence announced on 15 November 2023 the launch of a Competence Hub in Research in Cybersecurity and Cyber Defence (CyberHub), in partnership with the University of Luxembourg. The CyberHub is intended to strengthen and increase Luxembourg's ability to meet national and international challenges – such as increasingly serious and elaborate cyber threats.

Through the CyberHub, the University will support the government's Cybersecurity Strategy IV and Cyber Defence Strategy through research, technology transfer, and education. The CyberHub will bring together the expertise of the University of Luxembourg's Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) and the Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) to execute on these three areas.                                                                  

In its research activities, the CyberHub will benefit from SnT's extensive academic networks nationally, within Europe and internationally, to access opportunities to participate in the most cutting-edge research. Research activities will then support the technology transfer pillar by translating innovation into real-world, practical solutions. This pillar will take advantage of SnT's well-developed Partnership Programme, and foster new relationships with actors from Luxembourg and within the EU.

"Having one of NATO and the EU's most cyber secure Defences, through maximisation of our cybersecurity and cyber defence capabilities, is the Luxembourg Government's long term ambition in this critical domain. By joining forces with academia, we will strengthen and increase Luxembourg's capacity to meet national and international challenges such as cyber threats," declared minister of Defence François Bausch. "The CyberHub is another tool, joining the Chair in Cyber Policy launched in 2022, through which Luxembourg Defence will foster and support research, teaching and awareness-raising activities in cyber."

"With the CyberHub, we will be able to increase the national capabilities in this crucial area," said Prof. Björn Ottersten, director of SnT. "Cybersecurity and cyber defence are topics that impact many domains, and our interdisciplinary method ensures a holistic approach to our work in this area. By launching this CyberHub, we can expect to see benefits for many related activities in Luxembourg's public and private sectors."

"The CyberHub will magnify our efforts in the domain of cybersecurity and defence, and our work along the three pillars will create a talent pool of specialised researchers to support the national ecosystem," added Prof. Pascal Bouvry, dean of the FSTM. "We recently launched the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in Cybersecurity (https://cyberus.uni.lu) and this latest initiative further expands our focus in this critical domain."

"The University of Luxembourg is proud to be supporting the government's national strategies through the launch of the CyberHub," said Prof. Jens Kreisel, rector of the University. "The University is a strategic instrument to meet emerging societal challenges and shape the technological and economic development of the country, and this latest initiative does just that. We look forward to playing our part in the government's long-term cybersecurity and cyber defence strategy."