Cyberagentur sharpens its mission: think tank, transfer engine and depth of research at TRL 5/6
The Agentur für Innovation in Cybersicherheit GmbH (Cyberagentur) presents its new strategy for 2026 to 2030. It significantly expands its mission: a strengthened role as a government think tank, binding knowledge transfer, an innovation-friendly ecosystem and in-depth technological research up to TRL 5 and 6, where this is programmatically necessary. The strategy responds to changes in security policy – and at the same time creates forward-looking foundations for the cyber security of the day after tomorrow.
The Cyberagentur has presented its strategy for the years 2026 to 2030. Compared to the strategic orientation for 2022-2025, the new version sets significantly expanded priorities. It strengthens both the agency’s role within the national security architecture and its operational ability to initiate and evaluate disruptive research and develop it into new capabilities.
A key feature of the new strategy is the significant expansion of technological depth. In the future, research work can be funded up to technology readiness levels TRL 5 and 6, if required by the program logic. This will allow promising approaches to be tested and evaluated under realistic conditions and their suitability for use by state actors to be tested in a targeted manner.
In addition, the Cyberagentur places a much stronger focus on the dual-use orientation of its research questions. Technologies with dual-use benefits – both civilian and military – are specifically addressed in order to create cross-departmental synergies and support the overall national security architecture more efficiently. This orientation strengthens the strategic value of the programs and increases the connectivity of the results for both internal and external security.
At the same time, the Cyberagentur is sharpening its mandate as a government think tank. It analyzes technological developments, classifies security policy trends and provides evidence-based recommendations for policymakers and authorities. The transfer of scientific results is explicitly defined as a binding part of the mandate: Research is to be incorporated into concrete capabilities, structures and decision-making processes.
An additional strategic innovation is the focus on trustworthy technical value chains. This priority area, which is highly relevant for Germany’s technological and security policy autonomy, will be the responsibility of the Dresden project office in future. It will thus be visibly anchored in the organization and expanded as a long-term pillar of the Cyberagentur. The regional establishment also strengthens networking with research clusters, industrial partners and universities in Saxony – one of the most dynamic locations for semiconductor and security technologies in Europe.
Among other things, the strategy identifies these key priorities, which define the Cyberagentur’s mission for the coming years:
- Extended depth of research up to TRL 5/6:
If required, research projects can be supported up to higher technology maturity levels in order to enable realistic validations and reliable evaluations.
- Clear positioning as a government think tank:
The Cyberagentur is strengthening its advisory mandate and translating technological findings into strategic recommendations for action.
- Systematic knowledge transfer to state structures:
New platforms, transfer mechanisms and structured knowledge chains ensure that research flows directly into operational capabilities.
- Dual-use orientation as a guiding principle:
Research questions are specifically developed in such a way that they address both civilian and military applications and generate cross-departmental synergies.
- Expansion of the evaluation and testing capability:
With its own validation environment and independent testing instruments, the Cyberagentur can independently evaluate technological approaches and demonstrators.
- Trend and scenario analysis as futurology:
The agency recognizes disruptive developments at an early stage and provides strategic advice to state actors thanks to its advanced predictive analysis skills.
- Focus on trustworthy value chains and key technologies:
Focus areas in cryptology, AI robustness, quantum technologies, resilient supply chains and trustworthy IT architectures strengthen technological sovereignty in the long term.
- Development of an innovation-friendly ecosystem:
The Cyberagentur strengthens its role as a networker and shapes an interdisciplinary ecosystem of science, industry, authorities and international partners in order to effectively combine research, development and transfer.
“With this strategy, we are not only responding to the security policy and technological changes of recent years,” says Research Director Prof. Dr. Christian Hummert, explaining the strategic development. “We are deliberately thinking further ahead because the cyber security of tomorrow cannot be shaped from today’s perspective. Our task is to recognize at an early stage what will be relevant in the future – and to create the conditions for the state to remain capable of acting. Only if we combine bold research, precise evaluation, structured transfer and forward-looking policy advice can we continue to be a competent partner for politics, science, business and our European partner organizations in the future.”
With the 2026-2030 strategy, the Cyberagentur defines its mission more comprehensively and with greater foresight than before. It no longer sees itself solely as a project sponsor, but as an integrated player in the overall national security architecture – with clear roles in research, evaluation, transfer and strategic consulting. In this way, it makes a substantial contribution to Germany’s technological sovereignty in an increasingly complex and dynamic threat landscape.