Security Research
Security research encompasses research, development, and innovation activities aimed at identifying, preventing, and mitigating risks associated with unlawful activities or intentional harm to individuals, organisations, infrastructures, or society as a whole, including the European Union.
Security research also includes measures to strengthen the protection of both tangible and intangible assets and to ensure the continuity of operations following the occurrence of a harmful incident.
Sensitive Data / Information
Sensitive data or information refers to information and data that an academic institution protects because they constitute a substantial element of research or education in sensitive areas. This category includes data designated as confidential by the institution itself, as well as information subject to protection due to statutory or regulatory obligations imposed by the state or the European Union.
Sensitive Areas of Research and Education
Sensitive areas of research and education are academic fields in which there is an elevated risk of illegitimate interference, misuse of research results, or threats to security interests, requiring enhanced levels of protection. These typically include:
- Critical technologies relevant to the economic security of the European Union,
- Selected research and education disciplines where there is a risk of misuse of results,
- Cooperation with certain external partners or institutions requiring enhanced risk assessment,
- Dual‑use items and technologies, as well as military-related materials,
- Areas designated as sensitive by the academic institution following its internal risk assessment.
Foreign Power
The term foreign power refers to another state or its public authorities, as well as supranational or international organisations and their constituent bodies. It also includes natural persons, regardless of nationality, and legal entities, regardless of their place of establishment or operation, where such actors — directly, indirectly, or partially — advance the interests of a foreign state or organisation through illegitimate influence.
Risk Assessment – Due Diligence
Due diligence refers to risk assessment processes and measures aimed at preventing or mitigating the risks of illegitimate influence affecting academic and research institutions in the context of cooperation with external partners.
It involves a systematic assessment of partners, activities, and collaboration conditions to ensure that potential risks are identified at an early stage and that adequate protection is provided for the institution, its staff, and sensitive information.
Institutional Resilience
Institutional resilience currently lacks a single harmonised definition at the EU level. In general, it may be understood as the capability of an academic institution to establish, implement, and maintain measures that protect the research environment from illegitimate interference while strengthening institutional credibility and trustworthiness.
This includes secure international academic and research cooperation, effective implementation of sanctions regimes, responsible management of intellectual property, and robust risk management practices.
Such risks particularly concern research areas with high transformative potential, dual‑use technologies, the development of materials with potential military applications, and research whose results could be misused to violate human rights or fundamental freedoms.
Illegitimate Interference
Illegitimate interference refers to any unwanted influence on decision‑making processes, operations, or behaviour of individuals. It includes actions by foreign powers, criminal activities (such as corruption), and inappropriate forms of lobbying.
These activities are typically covert, deceptive, coercive, or corrupt in nature and may be conducted directly or through third parties. Such conduct conflicts with legal norms or generally accepted ethical standards and poses a risk to the interests of academic and research institutions.
Partner
A partner is any legal or natural person with whom a research institution establishes, or has already established, a cooperative relationship.
Partnership
A partnership refers to cooperation between an academic institution and a third party based on a cooperation agreement or other usually written arrangement. This may include memoranda of understanding, agreements on task allocation within research teams, or other formal documents governing collaboration.
In some cases, a partnership may also arise through less formal or informal arrangements between academic staff members and external partners, including implied agreements formed by the conduct of the parties even in the absence of an explicitly signed contract.
Staff Member of a Research or Academic Institution
This term refers to a broad category of individuals involved in the activities of an academic or research institution. It includes students, interns, academic teaching staff, researchers, and other employees working under employment contracts. It also covers individuals engaged under other contractual arrangements and any other persons actively participating in the operation of a research or academic institution.
Perpetrator of Illegitimate Interference
A perpetrator of illegitimate interference refers to any individual acting independently or on behalf of a state, company, or other organisation, regardless of the methods or forms used. In certain contexts, this actor may also be referred to as a “threat actor.”
Such individuals pursue their objectives in ways that are typically inconsistent with democratic principles, the rule of law, or fundamental ethical standards. Their actions are often directed against specific individuals, such as members or employees of academic or research institutions.