Masaryk University

Brno, Czech Republic

Masaryk University (MU) is the second-largest university in the Czech Republic and one of the country’s leading research and teaching institutions. It comprises ten faculties covering a wide range of fields, including medicine, science, law, arts, social sciences, education, informatics, and sports studies. The university offers more than 400 study programmes that emphasize applied knowledge and real-world impact, preparing students for careers in academia, industry, and public administration. It hosts over 37,000 students and approximately 6,500 employees. With a modern campus, state-of-the-art research facilities, and a vibrant international community, Masaryk University provides students and researchers with opportunities to engage in applied research, innovation, and professional development, making it a dynamic hub for academic excellence and societal contribution.

The Faculty of Informatics (FI MU), founded in 1994 as the first computer science faculty in the Czech Republic, conducts cutting-edge research in more than twenty laboratories, often in collaboration with industry partners and companies located in the faculty’s on-site science and technology park.

The CCAT project is coordinated by the team at the Centre for Research on Cryptography and Security (CRoCS), one of FI MU’s research groups, which focuses on enhancing security and privacy through applied research and provides advanced education for the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.

The university The faculty The centre

Our Team

Václav Matyáš

Principal Investigator

Václav (Vashek) Matyáš is a Professor at Masaryk University, Brno, CZ, heading its Centre for Research on Cryptography and Security.

His research interests are related to applied cryptography and security; he has published well over 200 peer-reviewed papers and articles and has co-authored several books. Vashek is a member of The Research, Development and Innovation Council of the Government of the Czech Republic.

He worked in the past with Cybernetica, Red Hat Czech, CyLab at Carnegie Mellon University, as a Fulbright-Masaryk Visiting Scholar at the Center for Research on Computation and Society of Harvard University, Microsoft Research Cambridge, University College Dublin, Ubilab at UBS AG, and as a Royal Society Postdoctoral Fellow with the Cambridge University Computer Lab. Vashek also worked on the Common Criteria and in ISO/IEC JTC1 SC27.

Petr Švenda

WP2 Leader

Petr Švenda is an Associate Professor at Masaryk University, Brno, CZ. His research interests revolve around applied cryptography and the analysis of cryptographic hardware, both from its usage as well as attack direction.

He first touched the domain of security certifications while working on the side-channel analysis of cryptographic devices for the Czech National Cyber and Security Agency, and has kept his passion for cryptographic smartcards ever since.

In 2017, he co-discovered and responsibly disclosed the RSA key generation flaw in Infineon cryptographic chips affecting 1-2 billion devices worldwide, including citizen eIDs (CVE-2017-15361, ROCA), followed by similar ones in other certified smartcards, TPM chips, and cryptographic libraries. These discoveries led his team to further explore the complexities of the certification process and desire to help improve transparency of the system with open-source tooling and datasets - unified under the SCRUTINY framework.

Veronika Jirsová

Project Manager

Veronika Jirsová is the Project Manager of the Cybersecurity Certification and Assessment Tools project (CCAT). Within CCAT, she oversees partner coordination, event preparation, and communication with the ECCC.

Her professional background is rooted in long-term project management at Czech universities, where she has worked across the full project lifecycle, from proposal preparation to the administration of national and international research and educational projects. Alongside academia, she served as a coordinator of partnership networks for Impact Hub, an international organization supporting entrepreneurs and innovation ecosystems worldwide, gaining experience in multi-stakeholder collaboration beyond the academic sector.

She currently leads the Grant Office at the Faculty of Informatics, where she supports research teams in developing and implementing large-scale funded projects. Her professional interests focus on projects that combine strategic management with meaningful societal impact.

Martina Miechová

Communication Manager

Martina Miechová is the Communication Manager of the CCAT project.

In this role, she develops and implements strategies to promote the project’s activities and results, manages content across digital platforms, coordinates media relations, and maintains stakeholder relationships to maximize the project’s visibility and impact.

She previously managed communication for multiple EU-funded projects, combining her interest in science communication and cross-sectoral cooperation with prior work in marketing within the non-academic sector, including industry and public administration. Her expertise was further strengthened by a traineeship at the European Commission’s DG Communication (2021), which provided her with insight into strategic communication and stakeholder engagement at the EU level.