business
Inauguration of the C3

On October 12, 2017, the C3, a national center for cybersecurity skills was inaugurated in the presence of Mrs. Francine Closener, Secretary of State for the Economy. This structure is based in part on the experience, skills and know-how acquired by government initiatives such as CASES (Promotion of Information Security in Businesses) and CIRCL (Computer Incident Response Center Luxembourg), both of which are part of the Securitymadein.lu national cybersecurity promotion platform.

Ms. Closener was impressed by the Room#42.

Addressing all public and private sector actors, including start-ups, the new C3 center brings together under one roof three fundamental pillars of digital security:

1. an observatory for current threats and vulnerabilities: the center not only provides technical information, but also an overview of contextualized threats and protection mechanisms, as well as key metrics and figures needed by security practitioners for good governance;
2. a training center and simulation platform: the center provides a simulator for various attack scenarios, allowing realistic operational training;
3. a laboratory to test new products and digital solutions: specifically, security products developed by start-ups can be tested in this laboratory. The tests will be used to verify the effectiveness of a product against a multitude of computer attacks.

The objectives of the competence center are to increase Luxembourg’s current competitive advantage in cybersecurity over the short term and, in the medium term, to contribute to the development of emerging ecosystems in areas such as the Internet of Things (IoT), space technologies and FinTech.

At the official opening, the Secretary of State for the Economy, Francine Closener, emphasized the innovative and unprecedented nature of C3. “By focusing on learning-by-doing in real-world simulations, this center promotes skills development and strengthens the ability of companies to effectively protect themselves against cyber attacks and to respond to crises in the best possible way. I am also pleased that the C3 offers start-ups the opportunity to test and validate their innovative solutions or ideas in the field of cybersecurity and gain credibility in the marketplace.”, she said.