New Cybersecurity Centre University of Twente

Together with the University of Twente, TNO and other Dutch partners with specializations in cybersecurity, we are launching a new cybersecurity initiative today! In a unique public-private center, professionals, entrepreneurs, researchers and students join forces for cybersecurity research. It is located on the grounds of the UT, and is called the Twente University Centre for Cybersecurity Research… TUCCR!

The full team of partners behind TUCCR are the Dutch Payments Association, BetterBe, Cisco, NCSC, NDIX, SIDN, SURF, TNO, the University of Twente and ourselves. TUCCR is the brainchild of two professors of cybersecurity at the University of Twente, Prof. Willem Jonker and Prof. Aiko Pras, both leaders in their discipline. According to Prof. Pras, there is a great need for a hub of this kind. “In the discipline of cybersecurity, it is now more important than ever to establish a direct link between the worlds of science and corporate life. We are all familiar with recent cases in which municipalities, universities, universities of applied sciences, and the Dutch Research Council were hacked. These are problems that cannot be solved within the boundaries of a single discipline. Moreover, there is far too little ICT expertise in the Netherlands to prevent problems of this kind. Developments are coming thick and fast. If they wish to achieve the best insights, the realms of science, local authorities and business communities must cooperate with one another.”

Three research themes

The research within TUCCR revolves around three specific themes: network security, data security and the associated social and economic aspects. Within these themes, the center collaborates with other UT disciplines such as business administration, mathematics, ethics and psychology. Pras points out: “Here at Twente, the work we are doing in the field of cybersecurity is unique. Unlike many other researchers, we do not confine ourselves to designing more secure systems, also known as security by design. In our globalised world, it is an illusion to think that if we start building more secure systems the Chinese will do the same. Thus, it is essential to collect huge amounts of data from raw reality and to analyse security problems, in order to arrive at new insights. That is the only way in which we will be able to improve existing systems and design new ones. This data-driven approach sets us apart from others.”

Cyberengineers of the future

Rene van Buuren, director Cybersecurity at Thales, adds: “Every day our customers deliver services in critical circumstances with our solutions. While fully leveraging the opportunities of digital transformations, cyber threats cannot be ignored. Therefore, Thales delivers integrated cyber protection, detection and reaction technologies in its solutions such that customer can focus on their core business. In TUCCR together with its partners Thales hopes to help shape the cyber engineers of the future and develop sophisticated cyber testing environments that keep our customers resilient.”

The cyber engineers of the future therefore play an important role for TUCCR, because the demand for these professionals continues to grow exponentially. Pass: “That doesn’t necessarily just involve those who work at cybersecurity companies, it is also about the mental exploration of this subject. As many people know, the government’s lack of ICT expertise is still a major hurdle. We hope to provide at least part of the solution.”

Official opening TUCCR

The official (virtual) opening event of TUCCR will take place today, at the end of the afternoon. Various founders and partners will say a few words. Our CTO Lukas Roffel will sign the declaration of intent of participation on behalf of Thales. After this, Mikko Hyppönen, Chief Research Officer at F-Secure, will give a keynote lecture.