Research program flanders
About us
The Cybersecurity Research Program Flanders is driven by a consortium of top-tier research institutions, including KU Leuven, VUB, UGent, and imec. The program leverages the expertise of over 200 researchers to advance the field of cybersecurity through research and innovation, benefiting industry and society at large.
The program’s operations are coordinated by two program directors and a program manager. To maintain high standards and relevance, the program is overseen by a Scientific Advisory Board and a Steering Committee.
The research program is part of the Flanders Policy Plan Cybersecurity, a long term initiative established by WEWIS (the Flemish Department of Work, Economy, Science, Innovation and Social Economy) and VLAIO (Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship).
Read more about the Flanders Policy Plan Cybersecurity on www.cybersecurityinvlaanderen.be/en and on the WEWIS website.
Research Consortium Partners
The Cybersecurity Research Program Flanders is led by a consortium of top-tier research institutions with a strong and proven academic track record in ICT security. This consortium brings together leading experts and researchers to drive innovative cybersecurity research and develop solutions that address real-world challenges. The consortium is introduced below.
CiTiP - KU Leuven
CiTiP – Centre for IT and IP Law – is a KU Leuven research group embedded in the Faculty of Law and Criminology. It is internationally recognised as a leading research group in the fields of information technology law and intellectual property rights. Ongoing research covers legal-ethical aspects of cybersecurity and cybercrime, artificial intelligence, privacy and data protection, e-health, human enhancement, pharma, media and communication platforms, data governance, bio- and food technologies, and IP protection in a digital environment. CiTiP’s research is characterized by an intra- and extra-legal interdisciplinary and comparative law approach, constantly seeking cross-fertilisation between legal, technical, economic, ethical and socio-cultural perspectives. CiTiP participates in several KU Leuven interdisciplinary institutes (including Leuven.AI, DigiSoc, LUSI and LIM), as well as imec and the Knowledge Centre Data & Society.
CONTACT: CiTiP | Laura Drechsler
COSIC - KU Leuven
COSIC is a KU Leuven research group embedded in the Department of Electrical Engineering, which focuses on the protection of digital information. COSIC develops advanced cybersecurity solutions to protect data in the cloud and in the Internet of Things (IoT) and to protect the privacy of users.
CONTACT: COSIC | Bart Preneel
DistriNet - KU Leuven
DistriNet is a KU Leuven research group embedded in the Department of Computer Science. The scope of DistriNet’s research is twofold: (1) ICT Security with an emphasis on secure software, secure systems, and software engineering for security, and (2) Distributed Systems. DistriNet’s knowledge and expertise in these domains results in the realization of adaptable and open software systems targeting challenging qualities in terms of performance, availability and robustness, and security & privacy.
CONTACT: DistriNet | Wouter Joosen
CSL - Universiteit Ghent
CSL is a Ghent University Research Group embedded in the Department of Electronics and Information Systems in the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture. The scope of CSL research is two-fold. On the one hand, the group develops novel architectures and design methodologies for both individual processors and whole computing systems and the software running on them, including more efficient run-time resource management techniques and tools. On the other hand, the group develops new security solutions and software protections, as well as tools and techniques to automate their deployment.
CONTACT: CSL | Bjorn De Sutter
SOFT - VUB
The Software Languages Lab (SOFT) is a research lab within the Department of Computer Science of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). The lab was founded in 2008 as a merger of the Programming Technology Lab and the Systems and Software Engineering Lab, both founded in 1987. SOFT unites the programming language heritage of the former with the software engineering heritage of the latter. As such, SOFT covers the entire scientific & methodological spectrum spanned by these two domains, varying from very theoretical research, over strategic & technological research, to industrially-sponsored applied research. Broadly speaking, the lab is active in the design, implementation and application of better languages to support the software engineering life cycle. Active research topics are distributed systems, mobile systems, secure software, big data processing, static & dynamic program analyses, software development tools and programming language design. As of 2020, SOFT has also attracted a specialist on databases such that it currently covers the entire space of “Software Technologies”. As of 2023, SOFT has hired a new professor on applied system software with a strong focus on operating systems, low-level software and middleware.
CONTACT: SOFT | Coen De Roover
ETRO.RDI - VUB
The ETRO.RDI research group at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) focuses on various aspects of signal processing, telecommunications, and remote sensing. In particular, related to the research on security, we have been specialized in the development and implementation of security solutions to be applied from Internet of Things (IoT) over edge to the cloud, including topics on blockchain, 5G, and privacy enhancing technologies.
CONTACT: ETRO.RDI | An Braeken
imec
Imec aims to be the world-leading R&D and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies. As a trusted partner for companies, startups and academia we bring together brilliant minds from all over the world in a creative and stimulating environment. By leveraging our world-class infrastructure and local and global ecosystem of diverse partners across a multitude of industries, we are accelerating progress towards a connected, sustainable future. Within the Compute Memory Technology Unit, the Advanced Reliability Robustness and Test department (AR2T) is responsible for the fundamental technology reliability research. Its mission is to support all imec technology development programs with physical Insight of reliability degradation mechanisms and provide physical models that enables technology improvements and accurate lifetime extrapolation.
CONTACT: imec | Dimitri Linten
Operational Management
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
PROGRAM MANAGER
Governance
The Cybersecurity Research Program Flanders is overseen by an International Scientific Advisory Board and the overall program by a Steering Committee, that together ensure the program’s scientific rigor and practical impact.
The International Scientific Advisory Board is composed of leading academic experts, and provides strategic scientific guidance to ensure the program’s excellence, innovation, and international alignment.
The Steering Committee advises on the program’s relevance to real-world challenges and helps align research priorities with industry needs. The committee is composed of stakeholders from both industry and research—it is established by the Flemish departments of WEWIS and VLAIO.
Contact us
Email to: info |at| cybersecurity-research.be