A safe and resilient university: Let's not allow anyone to pull the strings.
What is anti-influence security and why does it concern me?
Anti-influence security encompasses a set of measures aimed at protecting the academic environment from illegitimate and often hidden influence by foreign power or interest structures. Such influence may be exerted by state actors, foreign organizations, or individuals seeking to influence the university's decision-making processes, research, teaching, or personnel policies for their own benefit. Counter-influence measures focus primarily on prevention, early detection, and effective response to attempts at manipulation. The main goal is to preserve the independence, integrity, and freedom of the academic environment, thereby strengthening institutional resilience. This resilience represents the university's ability to withstand external pressures without compromising its core values, activities, and reputation.
The university systematically builds institutional resilience through preventive, control, and educational measures. This framework is part of broader security management and protects academic values, research integrity, personnel stability, and international credibility. Every member of the academic community plays an active role in this system, which is why counter-influence security concerns us all.
- Protecting the academic environment from external influence – identifying and preventing manipulative behavior aimed at promoting foreign interests within the university environment.
- Identifying and managing risks – systematically searching for, evaluating, and reducing threats that could jeopardize the independence, security, or credibility of academic activities.
- Due diligence – assessing institutions, individuals, and collaborations in terms of security and ethical risks, including compliance with international sanctions and export regimes.
- Protection of sensitive information and intellectual property – introduction of rules for the secure handling of information, research results, and innovations to prevent their misuse.
- Prevention of academic espionage and unauthorized technology transfer – strengthening control mechanisms in the areas of research, international cooperation, and knowledge transfer.
- Compliance with legislative requirements – all activities are carried out in accordance with the laws of the Czech Republic (e.g., Act No. 412/2005 Coll., on the protection of classified information, Act No. 110/2019 Coll., on the processing of personal data), European legislation (GDPR, EU sanctions and export regimes) and international UN commitments.
- Education and raising security awareness – development of training and educational programs for employees and students, including the use of online courses and case studies.
- Cooperation with security authorities and institutions – coordination of internal communication, incident response, and experience sharing in cooperation with relevant state security agencies.
https://mv.gov.cz/chh/clanek/protivlivovy-manual-pro-sektor-vysokych-skol.aspx
https://mzv.gov.cz/jnp/cz/cestujeme/index.html