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AU Invests DKK 300 Million In Strengthening Cyber Security

In its own words, Aarhus University wants to be the epicentre for research, education and innovation in cyber security and is investing DKK 300 million in this strategic initiative, which includes the opening of a new research centre, AU Cyber, which will collaborate with the business and industry, the Danish Armed Forces and other authorities.

The IT city at Katrinebjerg, together with Incuba in the background, will play a central role in Aarhus University's new venture in cyber security. The initiative focuses on research, education and innovation. Among other things, Aarhus University is launching the new AU Cyber research centre this year. Photo: Andrea Lif, AU Photo

As part of Aarhus University's new 2030 Strategy, the university's board has decided to invest DKK 300 million in cybersecurity. The initiative has three tracks: research, innovation and education. Specifically, Aarhus University will launch a new research centre in 2026, called AU Cyber. The centre will bring together the university's leading fields in cyber security, such as cryptography and software security, while also increasing the number of researchers, partly by attracting talented junior researchers and top international researchers. AU Cyber will collaborate closely with both local IT and innovation environments, such as Incuba and the Alexandra Institute, and with the national knowledge centre Security Tech Space, located in the IT City Katrinebjerg.

Regarding education, Aarhus University will from 2028 train 40 graduates each year who are highly specialised in cyber security and able to contribute to the Danish Armed Forces, public authorities and private companies. Aarhus University already educates 300 Master's degree students with skills in cyber security. AU will develop new courses focusing on cybersecurity. In addition to IT, the programmes will include subjects such as law, ethics and user behaviour. 

In addition, plans are underway to establish an innovation hub for cybersecurity, which will translate research-based knowledge into concrete solutions. The hub will be for both researchers and students and will support the development of start-ups focusing on cybersecurity.

RECTOR: AU is to be a focal point for cybersecurity

According to the rector of Aarhus University, Brian Bech Nielsen, this initiative is a response to the increasing digitalisation of society and the consequent need to protect digital infrastructure:

“As our daily lives, our businesses and our democratic institutions become more and more digital, cybersecurity will play an increasingly fundamental role in how we tackle future threats. Denmark needs a national research hub to investigate the most advanced cybersecurity challenges and train some of the most skilled cyber specialists in the world. Aarhus University is ready to take on that responsibility," says the rector in a news release from Aarhus University. 

In a post on LinkedIn, the rector also writes that "The investment will promote research, education and innovation and make Aarhus University a focal point for cyber security, where top researchers and talents can work on the most advanced digital threats."

Current threat levels 

  • The threat from cybercrime is VERY HIGH.
  • The threat from cyber espionage is VERY HIGH.
  • The threat from cyberactivism is HIGH.
  • The threat from destructive cyber-attacks is MEDIUM.
  • The threat from cyberterrorism is ZERO

Source: Threat Assessment, Cyber Threats against Denmark, November 2025, Danish Security and Intelligence Service  

The cyber threat is serious

And the cyber threat to Denmark is particularly serious, according to the latest assessment from November 2025 by the Danish Agency for Societal Security in collaboration with the Danish Defence Intelligence Service. 

Denmark is facing the most serious risk and threat scenario since the Second World War. This is particularly true in relation to the threat of cyber-attacks, which have been on the rise since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The cyber threat to Denmark is serious. Danish authorities, businesses and citizens are exposed to cyber-attacks daily. The attacks come from both state and non-state actors," the report states.

Last year, the Danish Defence Intelligence Service also confirmed that Russia was behind a cyberattack against Danish waterworks in Køge in 2024 and a denial-of-service attack against Danish websites ahead of the municipal and regional elections in 2025. And recently, the media outlet Tjekdet revealed that the Russian hacker group Z-Pentest had hacked into a surveillance camera in a swimming facility in northern Jutland and posted the images on the social media platform Telegram.

This text is machine translated and post-edited by Lisa Enevoldsen