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 are an academic centre with a mission to help Slovak institutions thrive at a time when resilience against cyber attacks serves as a benchmark for citizens' trust in the state. Our experts have years of experience in computer security, network infrastructure, cryptography, penetration testing, and threat analysis. We operate our own academic teaching Security Operations Center (SOC), where training participants can practise attack detection and incident response in a safe yet realistic environment.

The Competence Centre operates under the auspices of the Technical University of Košice and works in close collaboration with other university departments, most notably the Computing Centre. Our activities are implemented with the support of the European Union under the Recovery and Resilience Plan for the Slovak Republic, in partnership with the Ministry of Investments, Regional Development and Informatization of the Slovak Republic. We also cooperate with the Cyber Security Competence Centre at the University of Žilina, thereby establishing a nationwide network of expert workplaces.