Agentur für Innovation in der Cybersicherheit

The Agentur für Innovation in der Cybersicherheit (Cyberagentur) is a federally owned German limited liability company (GmbH) founded in 2020 and headquartered in Halle (Saale). It is assigned jointly to the Federal Ministry of Defence and the Federal Ministry of the Interior, and is counted among Germany's federal holdings. Its mission is to commission ambitious, high-risk research in cybersecurity and related key technologies in order to strengthen Germany's internal and external security and its digital sovereignty. The agency operates as a project sponsor (Projektträger), identifying, financing and evaluating disruptive research that looks ten to fifteen years ahead. It focuses on technologies at low technology readiness levels (TRL 1–4) and on dual-use research with potential spillover effects. Its primary demand-side partners are the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the Central Office for Information Technology in the Security Sector (ZITiS) and the Bundeswehr's Cyber and Information Domain Command (KdoCIR). Research results are made fully available to the Federal Republic of Germany. The Cyberagentur's published strategy defines four thematic fields: Secure Society, Cybersecurity of Complex Systems, Key Technologies, and Trustworthy Technical Value Chains. Funded projects include work on brain-computer interfaces, IT forensics for learning intelligent systems, protection of critical infrastructures, mobile quantum computers, post-quantum cryptography side-channel resistance, encrypted computing, and generative foundation models in security contexts. According to its website, the agency has awarded 14 research programmes since its founding, employs 119 staff, and has an average programme duration of four to five years; 109 million euros are earmarked for research programmes in 2026. Its strategy for 2026–2030 aims to place Germany among the world leaders in cybersecurity. The agency is modelled in part on the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

The German Federal Government decided in August 2018 to establish an agency for innovation in cybersecurity. In early July 2019, a letter of intent was signed by the two lead federal ministries (Interior and Defence) together with the state of Saxony-Anhalt and the Free State of Saxony. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag dealt with the agency's founding. From the second quarter of 2020 the founding process was underway, and according to Ursula von der Leyen, 100 jobs were to be created by 2023. A budget of around 200 million euros was planned as start-up capital for 2019 to 2023. On 15 June 2020 the founding charter was signed, and Christoph Igel was appointed Managing Director and Research Director, with Frank Michael Weber as Commercial Director. The agency began work on 15 June 2020. On 11 August 2020 its launch was officially announced; in that context it became known that the budget through 2023 had been increased to 350 million euros. In October 2020 the ceremonial opening took place at ministerial level in Halle (Saale). Christoph Igel, the agency's first Research Director, left in June 2021 after one year. While the responsible federal ministries described the departure as "on schedule", daily newspapers cited excessive interference and disproportionate accountability requirements as the reason. He was succeeded by Christian Hummert. The interim location was the city of Halle (Saale). In January 2023 it became known that Halle (Saale) would be the permanent site and that there would be no move to Leipzig/Halle Airport. The official opening took place on 14 March 2023, inaugurated by Saxony-Anhalt's Minister-President Reiner Haseloff, Saxony's State Secretary for Administrative Modernisation Thomas Popp, and representatives of the Federal Ministry of Defence and the Federal Ministry of the Interior. A second location is to be created as a project office in the Saxon state capital Dresden. By its own account, the agency has awarded 14 research programmes since its founding, employs 119 staff, and has an average programme duration of four to five years; 109 million euros are earmarked for research programmes in 2026. Its strategy for 2026–2030 aims to place Germany among the world leaders in cybersecurity.

• 2023

  Halle (Saale) confirmed as permanent site in January; official opening on 14 March; second location planned as a project office in Dresden.

• 2021

  First Research Director Christoph Igel leaves in June; Christian Hummert succeeds him.

• 2020

  Founding charter signed on 15 June; agency begins work; launch officially announced on 11 August; budget increased to 350 million euros through 2023; ceremonial opening in October in Halle (Saale).

• 2019

  Letter of intent signed by the Interior and Defence ministries, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony; Bundestag Budget Committee deals with the founding.

• 2018

  Federal Government decides to establish an agency for innovation in cybersecurity.

A state-owned project sponsor for disruptive, dual-use cybersecurity research, modelled on DARPA and focused on technologies 10–15 years ahead.

• Robust and Secure Machine Learning (RSML)

  Research programme on robust and secure machine learning for security- and defence-relevant operational systems.

• Research platform on disinformation in virtual reality (FoUnD-VR)

  Research platform for investigating disinformation in virtual reality.

• Software Security Score (3S)

  Project within the Trustworthy Technical Value Chains field.

• Mobile Infrastructure: Situational Awareness for Mobile Autonomous Systems (MoIn-LaMAS)

  Key technology project on situational awareness for mobile autonomous systems.

• Side-Channel Resistance in Post-Quantum Cryptography (SCA4PQC)

  Key technology project on side-channel resistance in post-quantum cryptography.

• Encrypted Computing – Analysis and Processing of Encrypted Data (EC2)

  Key technology project on encrypted computing.

• Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI): Secure Neural Human-Machine Interaction

  Secure Society project on brain-computer interfaces.

• Holistic Evaluation of Generative Foundation Models in Security Contexts (HEGEMON)

  Key technology project on evaluating generative foundation models in security contexts.

• Alternative Computer Architectures (ARA)

  Project within Cybersecurity of Complex Systems.

• Forensics of Intelligent Systems (FIS)

  Secure Society project on IT forensics for learning intelligent systems.

• Future Cybercrime (ZCK)

  Secure Society project on future cybercrime.

• Damage from Cybercrime (SCK)

  Secure Society project on damage from cybercrime.

• Mobile Quantum Computer (MQC)

  Key technology project on quantum processors for mobile use in defence and security applications.

• Audio Forensics (AuFo)

  Secure Society project on audio forensics.

1. 1Startseite - Cyberagenturcyberagentur.de
2. 2Über uns - Cyberagenturcyberagentur.de
3. 3Agentur für Innovation in der Cybersicherheit - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Agentur für Innovation in der Cybersicherheit - Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org