{"id":179895,"date":"2025-08-14T14:18:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T12:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/ku-skaerper-vaern-mod-forskningsspionage-fra-risikolande\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T09:39:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T07:39:14","slug":"university-of-copenhagen-steps-up-defences-against-espionage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/university-of-copenhagen-steps-up-defences-against-espionage\/","title":{"rendered":"University of Copenhagen steps up defences against espionage"},"content":{"rendered":"

The University of Copenhagen (UCPH) has tightened its procedures to protect critical research from being misused for military or strategic purposes abroad.<\/p>\n

From now on, all collaborations, visits, and appointments involving individuals affiliated with China, Russia, or Iran will undergo a security assessment.<\/p>\n

This is stated in a message on the university’s intranet KUnet<\/a>, where the procedures have been released.<\/p>\n

\n

Critical AREAS<\/p>\n

The EU has identified the following ten areas as critical<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Advanced semiconductors (e.g. microchips)<\/p>\n

Artificial intelligence<\/p>\n

Quantum technologies<\/p>\n

Biotechnologies<\/p>\n

Advanced connectivity, navigation and digital technologies<\/p>\n

Sensor technologies<\/p>\n

Space technologies<\/p>\n

Energy technologies<\/p>\n

Robotics technologies<\/p>\n

Nano technologies<\/p>\n

Source: KUnet<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The university has already been working for some time on screening individuals from these three countries however, as the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) considers them high-risk states in relation to research espionage.<\/p>\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> Deputy Director: International spying a future threat to research<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The procedures are not therefore new, according to Kim Brinckmann, Vice-Director at the University of Copenhagen and head of the Research & Information Security unit. But more an extension of an existing practice that has now been further formalised, systematised, and communicated widely across the university.<\/p>\n

The screening of individuals from these three high-risk countries has its origin in national guidelines, so-called URIS guidelines, that were introduced in 2022, following a number of revelations about the misuse of Western research.<\/p>\n

\u00bbThis is a continuation of that. We are still in the process of implementing the guidelines and recommendations introduced with URIS, and this is a step in that process,\u00ab Kim Brinckmann says to the University Post.<\/p>\n

Cases in recent years have shown that research developed in Denmark or in collaboration with Danish researchers abroad can end up being used in anything from mass surveillance systems to projects with direct military applications.<\/p>\n

Two-step assessment<\/h3>\n

The security assessment consists of a local pre-screening and, if necessary, an extended screening.<\/p>\n

The pre-screening is carried out at the department or centre level by a researcher of at least associate professor rank. The first step is to assess whether UCPH\u2019s interest in the collaboration \u2014 its expected academic and strategic benefit \u2014 is significant enough to outweigh the potential risks. It is also assessed whether the project involves critical technology, dual-use research (civilian and military), or areas of strategic significance to the university. At the same time, it is investigated whether the individual has strong ties to one of the high-risk countries \u2014 for example through long-term stays, funding, or extensive co-publications.<\/p>\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> Research is global, but security is key, says minister<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Extended screening is conducted by the UCPH Research and Information Security unit if the local assessment indicates both critical research and strong ties to a high-risk country. The final decision is then made by the local management. If the collaboration then goes ahead despite the extended screening advising against it, the decision must be justified in writing to the faculty dean.<\/p>\n

No numbers on rejections<\/h3>\n

Several Danish universities have published figures on how many applicants from the three high-risk countries have been rejected due to espionage suspicions.<\/p>\n

Aarhus University has rejected 24 researchers<\/a>, while Roskilde University (RUC) has rejected four people<\/a>.<\/p>\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> Danish government puts new restrictions on Chinese research co-operation<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

According to Kim Brinckmann, the University of Copenhagen does not keep centralised records of how many researchers from the three countries have been rejected. He says it is unlikely that the number is zero however.<\/p>\n

\u00bbWe don\u2019t have numbers for this at the central level, but I would certainly expect that people have been rejected,\u00ab he says.<\/p>\n

This article was first written in Danish and published on 14 August 2025. It has been translated into English and post-edited by Mike Young.<\/em>
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Researchers from China, Russia and Iran now face security screening before collaborating with UCPH<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":179868,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-179895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nUniversity of Copenhagen steps up defences against espionage \u2014 University Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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But more an extension of an existing practice that has now been further formalised, systematised, and communicated widely across the university.<\/p>\n<p>The screening of individuals from these three high-risk countries has its origin in national guidelines, so-called URIS guidelines, that were introduced in 2022, following a number of revelations about the misuse of Western research.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThis is a continuation of that. We are still in the process of implementing the guidelines and recommendations introduced with URIS, and this is a step in that process,\u00ab Kim Brinckmann says to the University Post.<\/p>\n<p>Cases in recent years have shown that research developed in Denmark or in collaboration with Danish researchers abroad can end up being used in anything from mass surveillance systems to projects with direct military applications.<\/p>\n<h3>Two-step assessment<\/h3>\n<p>The security assessment consists of a local pre-screening and, if necessary, an extended screening.<\/p>\n<p>The pre-screening is carried out at the department or centre level by a researcher of at least associate professor rank. The first step is to assess whether UCPH\u2019s interest in the collaboration \u2014 its expected academic and strategic benefit \u2014 is significant enough to outweigh the potential risks. It is also assessed whether the project involves critical technology, dual-use research (civilian and military), or areas of strategic significance to the university. At the same time, it is investigated whether the individual has strong ties to one of the high-risk countries \u2014 for example through long-term stays, funding, or extensive co-publications.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ ALSO:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-is-global-but-security-matters-says-minister\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Research is global, but security is key, says minister<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Extended screening is conducted by the UCPH Research and Information Security unit if the local assessment indicates both critical research and strong ties to a high-risk country. The final decision is then made by the local management. If the collaboration then goes ahead despite the extended screening advising against it, the decision must be justified in writing to the faculty dean.<\/p>\n<h3>No numbers on rejections<\/h3>\n<p>Several Danish universities have published figures on how many applicants from the three high-risk countries have been rejected due to espionage suspicions.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dr.dk\/nyheder\/indland\/universitet-afviser-hvert-12-ansoeger-i-frygt-spionage-snart-skruer-de-yderligere-op\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Aarhus University has rejected 24 researchers<\/a>, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tv2kosmopol.dk\/roskilde\/forskere-afvist-af-sikkerhedshensyn-03edc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Roskilde University (RUC) has rejected four people<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ ALSO:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/danish-government-puts-new-restrictions-on-chinese-research-co-operation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Danish government puts new restrictions on Chinese research co-operation<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>According to Kim Brinckmann, the University of Copenhagen does not keep centralised records of how many researchers from the three countries have been rejected. He says it is unlikely that the number is zero however.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe don\u2019t have numbers for this at the central level, but I would certainly expect that people have been rejected,\u00ab he says.<\/p>\n<p><em>This article was first written in Danish and published on 14 August 2025. It has been translated into English and post-edited by Mike Young.<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Newsletter","lang_select":"en","identifier":"Newsletter","headline":"Get an email with upcoming events and top University of Copenhagen stories","button_text":"Sign up here","class":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":45,"name":"International","slug":"international","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":45,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":315,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":15,"name":"News Article","slug":"news_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":11487,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[{"term_id":5468,"name":"Optional","slug":"optional-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5468,"taxonomy":"translation_priority","description":"","parent":0,"count":672,"filter":"raw"}]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/istock2154379866-1-1280x739.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179895"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":179907,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179895\/revisions\/179907"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}