Cyber Security Academy

The demand for graduates and young professionals with a background in cyber security in the public and private sector is steadily growing. In order to meet this demand, the Prague Security Studies Institute (PSSI), which has been involved in the development of security-oriented education in the Czech Republic and neighboring countries since 2002, launched the Cyber Security Academy (CSA) in 2018. PSSI’s Academy focuses on the policy angle of cyber security, which makes it a unique educational course not only in the region but also in all of Europe.

This week-long intensive course developed in cooperation with the Czech National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NCISA), is designed for a group of twenty-five graduate students and professionals (state officials and private sector representatives) from the Czech Republic and NATO/EU countries. It concentrates on the most relevant/cutting-edge technical, legal, and institutional aspects of cyber security.

The core of the course revolves around the crucial interplay of the public sector, private sector and academia, each of which has a specific approach to cyber security. Only a cooperation of these three spheres can help us to educate future experts in this domain and defend ourselves from current and following cyber threats. We invite experts from the Czech Republic as well as abroad with diverse backgrounds in order to demonstrate the cyber security complexity and importance. The year 2024 marked the first time the Cyber Security Academy was held in English and opened to international students, enhancing the program's reach and global relevance.

The 2024 Cyber Security Academy featured an impressive lineup of expert speakers from various sectors, including Jonáš Papoušek (National Cyber and Information Security Agency), Tereza Toufalová (Cyber Forces Command), Milan Zrcek (ČSOB), and Jiří Bulan (RaulWalterCZ). Other notable contributors included Adrián Szabó and Jindřich Karásek from Cyber Forces Command and Trend Micro, respectively, along with Vladimíra Žáčková (MSD Czech Republic) and Martin Leskovjan (Actum Digital). Their diverse expertise provided participants with valuable insights into various cybersecurity challenges and solutions.

Additional speakers, such as Eva Dokoupilová (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Adéla Klečková (PRINCEPS), and Lucie Novotná (Resistant AI), contributed their expertise on key issues. The academy concluded with a strategic cyber security exercise led by Markus Münzer and Lauri Almann from RiskSight, ensuring participants left with both theoretical knowledge and practical experience.