The partnership between the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic and CTU FEL, which was confirmed by the signing of a memorandum of cooperation in November 2023 by the Head of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic Mgr. Jana Kotalíková and the Dean of FEL CTU, Prof. Petr Páta, has completed its first six months. During these months, all key modules of the pilot project have been launched.
"As the Cabinet Office strengthens its cybersecurity capabilities, it needs a strong and independent partner in the information security management system. The CTU Faculty of Electrical Engineering has become just that. The students helped us to monitor the current state of our systems and trained a number of employees on safe behaviour on the Internet. I also very much appreciate the fact that we were able to set up conditions for long-term student internships. The cooperation is so beneficial for both the public sector and the university," said Head of the Government Office of the Czech Republic Mgr. Jana Kotalíková.
"The cooperation with the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic is an example of a project where we have the opportunity to transfer the results of our research into practice in a top government institution and strengthen our cooperation with the government and public sector. We also see it as part of the social responsibility of our faculty and university that our researchers are involved in the training of employees of the office," said Prof. Petr Páta, Dean of the CTU Faculty of Economics.
Employees of the Office of the Government perceive the area of cybersecurity as important "We conducted an initial system analysis and monitoring of the state of the systems, which was the first necessary step in establishing a plan for increasing the resilience of the entire office to cyber attacks," said Dr. Jaroslav Burčík, Head of the Cyber Security Centre at CTUbFEL.
According to Dr. Burčík, it is crucial that the knowledge development programme for employees and managers has been successfully launched. So far, 38 Authority staff have been trained on safe behaviour on the internet. The training for end-users from various departments, including managers, is practically oriented - they learn, among other things, how to spot fake emails, spoofed URLs and how to avoid the most common cyber threats. Staff also got to try out some tasks, such as identifying viruses in downloaded files.
"The added value of the training is that it reflects the specific conditions of the office and its internal processes. In the coming months, more staff will receive the training and some will also undergo a more advanced training programme as part of the Cybersecurity Academy at our Faculty. These courses are led by experienced practitioners and are designed to be studied remotely, including in the labs," explained Dr. Jaroslav Burčík.
The expert from FEL CTU appreciates the support given by the management of the Government Office of the Czech Republic to the development of employee knowledge, which he considers an important part of building a cyber-resistant organization. "The human factor is important in cybersecurity; employees need to change their habitual behaviour and take new procedures and recommendations seriously, which is not easy to enforce in any organisation. We are pleased that the Authority's staff have embraced the change positively. They appreciate the opportunities to receive training in an area they perceive as important, but also the fact that they can consult with us on professional matters," summarised Dr Burčík on his experience with the project so far.
Three students of FEL CTU as new employees of the Government Office of the Czech Republic
Součástí spolupráce vrcholného státního úřadu a přední akademické instituce bylo také nastavení podmínek pro dlouhodobé studentské stáže. Výběrovým řízením úspěšně prošli tři studenti programu Elektronika a komunikace Fakulty elektrotechnické ČVUT, kteří se pak v létě připojili k úřadu jako jeho zaměstnanci. Jsou to studenti Vojtěch Žák, Jakub Mojzík a Filip Cendelín. Cílem těchto stáží je připravit experty pro interní IT systémy úřadu, a posílit tak jeho interní expertízu v oblasti kybernetické bezpečnosti. Stážisté se v současnosti seznamují s interními systémy úřadu, časem by však měli vykonávat i vysoce specializované činnosti.
The cooperation between a top government agency and a leading academic institution also included setting conditions for long-term student internships. Three students of the Electronics and Communication programme at Faculty of Electrical Engineering successfully passed the selection procedure and joined the office as its employees in the summer. They are students Vojtěch Žák, Jakub Mojzík and Filip Cendelín. The aim of these internships is to prepare experts for the Authority's internal IT systems and thus strengthen its internal expertise in the field of cyber security. The trainees are currently familiarising themselves with the Authority's internal systems, but in time they should also perform highly specialised activities.
"My main motivation was to gain practical experience and link it with the theoretical knowledge acquired during my studies. Furthermore, I was attracted by learning about the non-traditional environment and the functioning of this institution," said Filip Cendelín. Cendelín wants to focus on telecommunications after school. "This field also has a wide range of activities, so I cannot exclude that my path will lead me to the public sector, perhaps even the state administration," he added. Another trainee, Jakub Mojzík, said he was interested in the way the network is managed at the Government Office. "I like the idea that I can contribute to its modernisation," said the recent graduate of the Master's degree programme in Electronics and Communication, who is professionally interested in designing parts of communication systems. The third trainee from FEL, Vojtěch Žák, was attracted by the opportunity to get to know an unfamiliar network, analyse its functional and non-functional aspects and, on the basis of this, propose modifications for more pleasant access and management of the network. "This is also linked to its security and closedness to the outside world and its possible attacks," said the student.