Luxembourg’s inclination for quick wins sets it up to be a leading player in European cybersecurity, if the right moves are made. Speed is everything when it comes to addressing cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and the next step to strengthen Luxembourg’s position is to integrate AI into the response mechanisms.

“Cybersecurity incidents against critical infrastructure are increasing in occurrence, making speed essential when developing countermeasures,” said Prof. Vincent Lenders, FNR PEARL Chair in Cybersecurity at the University of Luxembourg’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT). “AI will deliver that speed on the technological side, but the surrounding ecosystem matters just as much. I see the potential here in Luxembourg to bring them both together.”

Prof. Lenders, a Swiss-Belgian national, arrived in Luxembourg in August. His role is supported by FNR’s prestigious PEARL programme, which aims to attract international leaders in science and technology to strengthen Luxembourg’s research ecosystem. He comes from ETH Zurich and most recently, he was leading national cyber defence research and innovation initiatives in Switzerland such as the Cyber-Defence Campus. At SnT, his new research group will focus on securing critical infrastructures against cyber threats, as well as contributing to the Cyber Research Hub launched in late 2023 in partnership with the Luxembourg Directorate of Defence and the University’s Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM).

“Collaboration is key to develop and introduce cybersecurity solutions, and I see in Luxembourg that its small size, multilingual and multicultural make-up, and position in the heart of Europe, makes it uniquely poised to be a leader in European cybersecurity,” said Prof. Lenders.

The AI Factor

Artificial intelligence is creating a new way to respond to cybersecurity threats. Attackers are already exploiting AI to generate realistic phishing campaigns, automate the discovery of vulnerabilities, and adapt malicious code in real time. What once required days of effort from a team of hackers can now be done in hours by algorithms.

“AI has the potential to completely change how we secure critical infrastructure,” said Prof. Lenders. “Until now, many cybersecurity operations have been manual—detecting intrusions, analysing threats, and coordinating responses all required human teams. That is too slow against machine-driven attacks. With AI, we can automate large parts of this process and react at machine speed.”

Systems like energy, telecoms, or transport were built for safety, not cybersecurity. Now they’re all connected, which means vulnerabilities spread quickly. The challenge is to keep these vital systems secure while adapting to threats at the speed they appear.

Let’s Make it Happen

Once AI-based cybersecurity solutions have been developed, they need to be integrated. This is a step-by-step process that begins with start-ups introducing these technological developments to the market.

“That first customer is a big deal for cybersecurity start-ups. Large organisations tend to be risk-averse and want to see a successful track-record for a product before they integrate it into their systems,” explained Prof. Lenders. Yet, new tools address new vulnerabilities; so, waiting to integrate them turns into a risk itself. “Large organisations in Luxembourg demonstrate a stronger willingness to be that first customer, compared to Switzerland or some other EU countries. This, paired with the support for start-ups that exists here, make the Luxembourg ecosystem perfectly suited to cybersecurity development.”

Paired with this openness is a strong support structure for innovation. Government-backed initiatives, from Luxinnovation to dedicated cybersecurity competence centres, provide funding, networking, and international visibility. The result is an ecosystem where research, industry, and policy can align at speed. Start-ups gain traction, established companies strengthen their resilience, and Luxembourg consolidates its role as a European hub for cybersecurity innovation.

Speed as Strategy, Resilience as Outcome

Since 2000, the compound annual growth rate of sophisticated attacks with a political dimension is 22% (). This increase in incidents underlines the scale of cybersecurity threats. “When critical infrastructure is attacked it can cause real damage that impacts the economy and, more insidiously, degrades trust in our public infrastructure,” said Prof. Lenders. “What we have seen from the recent past is that resilience depends on robust systems, but also on the agility to adapt.”

For Prof. Lenders, Luxembourg’s path forward is clear: double down on speed. That means faster adoption of AI-driven defences, faster collaboration across sectors, and faster support for start-ups and research spin-offs. “With the right moves, Luxembourg can become Europe’s go-to hub for cyber innovation, where new tools are developed and tested, to then scaled across borders.”