The Cyber Security Competence Centre

The Cyber Security Competence Centre is a specialised academic workplace established at the Technical University of Košice (TUKE) as part of the project “Competence and Education Centre for Cyber and Information Security of TUKE”. The guarantor of the centre is the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics of TUKE (FEI TUKE), which has long been one of the most prominent institutions in the fields of information technology and cyber security in Slovakia. The centre was established with the aim of bridging academic research, modern education, and the practical needs of public administration, schools, and the professional public in the area of cyber and information security.

FEI TUKE is the only faculty in eastern Slovakia offering a study programme in Cyber Security. The first graduates completed their studies in 2022, and since the 2024/2025 academic year, the number of graduates has reached approximately one hundred per year, ranking TUKE among the most significant institutions preparing cyber security experts in Slovakia. The activities of the centre involve specialists from the Department of Computers and Informatics, the Department of Electronics and Multimedia Telecommunications, the Department of Cybernetics and Artificial Intelligence, and the Computing Centre.

Our experts have long focused on computer security, network infrastructure, cryptography, penetration testing, security incident analysis, and the application of artificial intelligence in cyber security. The centre also incorporates an academic teaching Security Operations Center (SOC), which facilitates practical training, the simulation of cyber attacks, and response training to security incidents in a realistic environment.

The Technical University of Košice has long been a leading Slovak institution in the fields of engineering sciences, research, and education. In the area of cyber and information security, we possess many years of experience, qualified experts, established international partnerships, and state-of-the-art laboratories that meet current industry standards. The establishment of the Cyber Security Competence Centre represents a natural continuation of this journey, as well as a concrete response to the growing demands of the state for the professionalisation of cyber defence.

Our mission is to build a safer digital space through three interconnected pillars: targeted education for public administration employees, applied research responding to current threats, and expert support for institutions in implementing security measures. These three areas form a comprehensive ecosystem in which academic knowledge is transformed into measurable societal value.

Our professional activities are based on four specialised laboratories:

• The Laboratory of Computer Architectures and Security focuses on selected aspects of cyber security in the context of parallel and distributed systems.
• The Computer Networks Laboratory at the Department of Computers and Informatics has been the coordinating workplace for the Cisco Networking Academy Program in Slovakia for over twenty years.
• The Information Systems Laboratory concentrates on the security of information systems and artificial intelligence applications.
• The Computer Networks Laboratory at the Department of Electronics and Multimedia Telecommunications provides equipment for simulating the detection and prevention of network attacks, utilising IDS systems, ASA firewalls, and specialised tools for locating attackers in wireless networks.

We envision a Slovakia whose institutions are equipped not only to respond to cyber incidents, but to proactively anticipate and prevent them. We believe that a professionally trained individual is the most effective first line of defence, and that an educated institution forms its key anchor. For this reason, we focus our activities primarily on the public sector – where every security improvement has a direct impact on millions of citizens.

In all our activities, we are guided by four core principles:

• Expertise means that our statements and recommendations are based on verified data, peer-reviewed research, and practical experience.
• Openness expresses our commitment to making knowledge accessible to the wider professional public, rather than just a narrow circle of clients.
• Collaboration reflects the belief that cyber security is a team sport requiring partnership between academia, public administration, and the private sector.
• Responsibility is our ethical anchor. We educate and advise with the awareness that our graduates and clients will be handling sensitive citizens' data.