Workshop on Cybersecurity for Research Infrastructures “Strengthening capacities across research infrastructures in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East”

Thursday 29 Jan 2026, 09:30 → 17:00 Asia/Amman

American University of Beirut (AUB) – Mediterraneo Campus (location)

Workshop on Cybersecurity for Research Infrastructures will be held at the American University of Beirut (AUB),  Mediterraneo Campus, located at Apostolou Pavlou Avenue 51, Paphos 8046, Cyprus, on 29 January 2026.

Goals and Objectives

This workshop aims to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange among experts in cybersecurity, IT infrastructure, and scientific computing within the Photon and Neutron (PaN) research communities. It is a key outcome of the W.E. HERAEUS Proposal, supporting the development of a resilient cybersecurity infrastructure at SESAME, in partnership with DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron).

The workshop will:

• Address emerging cybersecurity threats impacting large-scale research infrastructures.
• Share best practices and strategies to strengthen the security posture of research and educational institutions.
• Promote cross-disciplinary collaboration among cybersecurity professionals, facility IT teams, and scientific researchers.
• Examine the influence of cybersecurity policies and regulations on scientific research and data governance.
• Explore advanced cybersecurity solutions tailored to the unique needs of research institutions.
• Provide a platform for international networking and experience sharing.

Coordination Committee

• Andrea Lausi, SESAME – Chair
• Salman Matalgah, SESAME
• Mustafa Alzu'bi, SESAME
• Frank Lehner, DESY
• Patrick Fuhrmann, DESY
• Roa Alnatour, SESAME
• Mohammad Abbass, AUB
• Charalambos Chrysostomou, Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence

Audience Overview

The event will convene cybersecurity professionals, scientists, and policymakers to advance the global security framework of PaN research facilities.

Registration and Fellowships

If you would like to attend the workshop, please complete the registration form.

Participation requests will be reviewed, and a confirmation will be sent by the Organizing Committee.

Please note that the fellowship application deadline has passed, and registration is now open for participation only.

A limited number of fellowships will be offered to support attendance. Interested users are requested to submit the required information through the registration form.

Fellowship DEADLINE: End of 17 Dec. 2025

Cypersecurity agenda.pdf

10:00 → 10:15 Arrival and Registration

10:15 → 10:30 Master of Ceremony (MC) Mustafa Alzubi, Welcome address opening speech by Wassim El Hajj

Speaker: Dr Wassim El Hajj (AUB Mediterraneo)

10:30 → 11:15 Keynote: by Eleni Agathocleous Cryptography in the Quantum Era: A New Security Paradigm

11:15 → 11:30 Group Photo & Coffee Break, Communication support for the group photo

11:30 → 11:45 SESAME-EU projects journey and Project overview

Speaker: Mr Salman Matalgah (SESAME)

11:45 → 12:30 Keynote: Cyber threat landscape for research - CERN

Speaker: Mr Stefan Lüders (CERN)

12:30 → 13:00 Incident response (BESSY-II)

Speaker: Mr Vidhya Sasidharan Nair (Helmholtz Centre Berlin (HZB))

13:00 → 13:15 TBD

13:15 → 14:15 Lunch at AUB cafeteria, catering service from AUB restaurant

14:15 → 14:35 Cybersecurity at AUB

Speaker: Mr Mohammad Abbass (AUB)

14:35 → 14:55 Cybersecurity at ALBA Synchrotron

Speaker: Mr Sergio Vicente Molina (ALBA)

14:55 → 15:15 TBD

15:15 → 15:35 CyNet Cybersecurity

Speaker: Mr Aristos Anastasiou (CyNet)

15:35 → 16:15 Panel discussion (PaN, DESY, CERN)

Speakers: Mr Carsten Porthun (DESY), Mr Stefan Lüders (CERN)

16:15 → 16:30 Recap and wrap-up, explore next action

16:30 → 16:50 End of the conference + Coffee and networking