Cyber Research and Innovations in Security

What is the mission of CYRIS?

Research and development in the field of cyber and information security is seen as one of the priorities at national and European level. In view of the continuous development in the field of digital technologies, it is necessary to build capabilities and capacities, which cannot be done without active cooperation across all sectors - public, academic and private. 

Therefore, building a strong and competitive Czech expert community in the field of research, development and innovation in cyber and information security is crucial . This community will enable:

• effective exchange of knowledge
• strengthening cooperation
• building partnerships.

The mission of CYRIS, therefore, is to build a synergistic and dynamic national ecosystem of research and development in cyber and information. Only thanks to the mutual knowledge of the entities operating in the Czech Republic and their active cooperation will the Czech research environment be able to be a steadily growing and competitive organism that fully exploits the potential created by the experts working in it. Such an ecosystem will also be able to transform into a supranational level, which opens up for further development also thanks to the connection with the National Coordination Centre in Cyber and Information Security (NCC), which supports this development through its activities.

CYRIS activities

One of the ways the National Office for Cyber and Information Security (NCIS) supports the creation and development of this environment is by coordinating and organizing the meetings of the Cyber Security Research and Innovation Group.

This group brings together representatives from the academic, public, and private sectors who meet regularly to discuss mutual research needs, R&D innovations, funding opportunities for planned projects, and networking opportunities. CYRIS members are also provided with up-to-date information regarding, for example, the activities of the National Coordination Centre, or support for R&D in cyber and information security at national and European level. Currently, CYRIS members include a wide range of entities and we aim to continuously expand this community. 

The outputs from the CYRIS meetings are a crucial element not only for NCIS' research and development activities, but also for its cooperation with other actors within the state. In addition to the implementation of the National R&D Plan, the outputs are also used to improve the capacity and capability of actors to fund their research and also to strengthen the competitiveness of start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The conclusions reached at the meetings, thanks to the representation of all spheres of the R&D environment, open the door for finding consensus innovative solutions and their subsequent translation into a functioning national ecosystem.

What is the structure of CYRIS?

The CYRIS meeting takes the form of a one-day physical meeting, in the first half of the year in Prague and in the second half of the year in Brno. The agenda of each meeting consists of two main blocks. The morning session is devoted to lectures by experts from the public, academic and private spheres, focused on presenting the latest trends in cybersecurity research, current activities of the NCSC and NCS, new opportunities for project funding and the development of national and international cooperation. The afternoon session is dedicated to panel discussions in which representatives from all sectors present their views on the most current topics and trends.

If you are interested in getting involved with CYRIS, please see the How to get involved tab for more information.