L-R: Pascal Steichen, CEO of Luxembourg House of Cybersecurity; Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke; François Thill, cybersecurity director, Ecomony Ministry; Franz Fayot, Economy Minister; Jeannot Krecké, former Economy Minister; Credit: SIP / Luc Deflorenne

On Monday 17 October 2022, His Royal Highness the Hereditary Grand Duke and Luxembourg's Minister of the Economy, Franz Fayot, officially inaugurated the new premises of the national cybersecurity agency, previously known as "SECURITYMADEIN.LU".

The agency is now called the Luxembourg House of Cybsersecurity (LHC) and its previous activities have been restructured. The LHC has a platform and premises promoting the collaboration and cooperation of multiple Luxembourg players. It offers, among other things, reception areas for members of the public (BEE SECURE initiative), for research and innovation players (Digital Innovation Hub, Digital Learning Hub) and for startups in the field of cybersecurity.

Former Economy Minister and the founding father of cybersecurity activities within the ministry, Jeannot Krecké, was present for the inauguration, alongside the current Economy Minister, Franz Fayot, thus representing continuity in a common vision of cybersecurity as a factor of economic attractiveness. The Ministry of the Economy has acted as a catalyst for a cybersecurity ecosystem for more than 20 years and works towards positioning Luxembourg as a pioneer in cybersecurity based on an open and trusted data economy.

In his welcome address, François Thill, director of cybersecurity and new technologies within the ministry and president of the economic interest group in charge of the LHC, thanked the various national players for their contribution to the development of a mature cybersecurity ecosystem.

During his speech, Minister Fayot congratulated the Luxembourg cybersecurity ecosystem for its important contribution to the establishment of digital trust in Luxembourg. He said: "With the digital transition, cybersecurity challenges are intensifying. Thanks to the Luxembourg House of Cybersecurity, we are consolidating our local expertise and promoting our quality services within a digital and connected Europe". He also reaffirmed the country's desire to support research and innovation in cybersecurity, announcing the participation of fourteen Luxembourg players in the "Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) - Cloud Infrastructure and Services".

In his function as Luxembourg's Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Franz Fayot expressed his delight at the good relations maintained with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), whose cyberspace delegation has just set up in Luxembourg with the objective of providing a safer digital environment for their experts operating in conflict zones.

Prince Guillaume, the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Minister Fayot then made the inaugural gesture unveiling the visual identity of the LHC.

LHC activities

The LHC is based on the expertise acquired over the past two decades. It aims to promote an open and trusted cybersecurity data economy, intended to become the meeting place for all activities related to cybersecurity, as well as the reference centre for cyber-resilience in Luxembourg by capitalising and developing the skills, collaboration, research, innovation and capacities of the public and private sectors in the field.

LHC CEO Pascal Steichen presented the restructuring of the agency, consolidating its activities on two centres of expertise: the Computer Incident Response Centre Luxembourg (CIRCL), for the management of incidents and the promotion of exchanges and information on the cyber threat; the National Cybersecurity Competence Centre (NC3), newly created by the merger of CASES and C3. The latter's activities centre around three pillars: supporting the development of cybersecurity capacities and skills, federating a solid industrial base in cybersecurity and contributing to excellence in research and technological development.

The NC3 notably represents Luxembourg as a national coordination centre in cybersecurity (National Coordination Centre - NCC) within the European network under the aegis of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC), of which Pascal Steichen was elected president at the start of the year.

Cybersecurity Week Luxembourg

The inauguration was also an opportunity to kick off the traditional Cybersecurity Week Luxembourg, which takes place this month as part of the European Cybersecurity Month (ECSM), organised by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), the European Commission and EU Member States.

For the first time, Cybersecurity Week Luxembourg will bring together the international cybersecurity community for a "Fair & Meet-up" event to be held on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 October 2022 at LuxExpo The Box in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.