Cyberagentur gathers top players at cyber security symposium
With the SIC!2025 symposium, the Agentur für Innovation in der Cybersicherheit GmbH (Cyberagentur), together with KdoCIR and ZITiS, sent a strong signal for networked cybersecurity research on May 15, 2025 in Halle (Saale). Over 40 speakers, numerous sessions and an intensive exchange among experts characterized the top-class format.
The second symposium “SIC! – Security and Innovation in Cyberspace” took place on May 15, 2025 in the Händelhalle in Halle (Saale) under the motto “Unifying Applications, Multiplying Opportunities – The Power of Dual-Use”. The Cyberagentur, together with the Cyber and Information Space Command (KdoCIR) and the Central Office for Information Technology in the Security Sector (ZITiS), had invited around 250 invited experts from science, research, federal authorities, the Bundeswehr, start-ups and established companies.
The event marked an important highlight for the networking of players in cyber security research in Germany. In his opening speech, Prof. Dr. Christian Hummert, Research Director of the Cyberagentur, emphasized: “Cybersecurity needs long-term research, courageous partners and open spaces for exchange.” He was supported by Major General Jürgen Setzer (Deputy Inspector KdoCIR) and Wilfried Karl (President ZITiS). The welcoming speech underlined the Cyberagentur’s claim to strategically expand innovation-oriented research as a security factor in Germany.
Refael Franco (Code Blue Group, Israel) kicked off the event with a keynote speech on international cooperation between start-ups and governments in the field of cyber security. A second keynote was delivered by Prof. Dr. Uwe Cantner, Chairman of the Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation, with a contribution on the connection between civilian and military security research.
In eight sessions, experts presented the state of research on topics including brain-computer interfaces, formal verification, quantum-based security applications, computing architectures of the future and dual-use innovations in the UAS sector as well as mobile quantum computers. Participants showed particular interest in the contributions from Infineon, Quantum Brilliance, Oxford Ionics, ParityQC and Bundesdruckerei. The session on secure hardware using formal methods and a security policy simulation game by the Bundeswehr Planning Office also attracted a lot of attention.
SIC!25 was more than just a symposium: it was a platform for application-oriented research, strategic foresight and concrete project networking. With over 40 speakers, including international partners, institutional managers and young researchers, as well as numerous information stands from Cyberagentur contractors, a dense network of security-relevant players was created.
With SIC!2025, the Cyberagentur, KdoCIR and ZITiS have made it clear that innovation-driven cybersecurity research is not an end in itself, but a supporting pillar of the overall national security architecture. The SIC! format has established itself as a driving force for the development of disruptive technologies – and as a motor for a sustainable research ecosystem. The next SIC! is planned for 2027.
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