Utrecht University launches AI Lab for Cybersecurity

The Utrecht AI Labs have added a new facility: the AI Lab for Cybersecurity. This lab is a collaboration between Utrecht University and HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, working with external partners to explore how artificial intelligence can help strengthen digital infrastructures.

Recent high-profile hacks, such as those affecting Odido, Basic Fit, and Chipsoft, underscore the urgency of the research conducted by the group. Together, associate professor Slinger Jansen and Martine Groen, professor of Cybersecurity at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, lead and coordinate the new lab. “Our digital world relies on software that is becoming increasingly complex and autonomous,” Jansen explains. “At the same time, these hacks reveal that vulnerabilities and hidden dependencies are growing faster than humans can oversee. In the AI Lab for Cybersecurity, we investigate how artificial intelligence can help restore trust in software and make it manageable again.”

The lab, officially launched at the Utrecht AI Event on 24 March, brings together researchers from Utrecht University and HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht with partners from industry, government, and other knowledge institutions, including Centric, A.S.R., and the municipality of Utrecht.

The focus is not only on developing technical tools to enhance digital security but also on the responsible and transparent use of such technologies. Jansen adds: “Our goal is to better support organisations in making secure choices. Not by replacing people, but by providing insights where they are currently lacking. This approach is unique, as we combine cutting-edge scientific knowledge with practical applicability.”

Building digital resilience

PhD candidates at the AI Lab for Cybersecurity use AI to analyse large volumes of data and digital ecosystems, aiming to identify risks at an early stage. They also explore how users and organisations can move from being passive victims to actively contributing to digital resilience.

A concrete example is a project conducted with the municipality of Utrecht, mapping the digital autonomy of AI algorithms. “This project examines the extent to which organisations depend on external technologies, data, and infrastructures, and the risks this poses for control, transparency, and decision-making. By making these dependencies visible, the municipality can make more informed choices about the use and deployment of AI, actively promoting greater digital sovereignty.”

Similar initiatives are currently being prepared with other public and private partners.

“Sectors such as healthcare, energy, and financial services are increasingly becoming targets of cyber attacks,” Jansen anticipates. “Through our research, we aim to contribute to a future in which AI not only creates new cyber risks but becomes an essential component of our digital resilience and European digital sovereignty.”