The Research Security Layer
Universities, Dual-Use Knowledge and the New Rules Against Illicit Technology Acquisition
19 pages · PDF · 20 June 2026 · Licensed single-user copy, watermarked to the buyer
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About this report
Advanced research is becoming a strategic access surface.
Universities and public research organisations remain built around openness, international collaboration and scientific mobility, but they now produce, host and circulate knowledge that can also matter for defence, intelligence, cyber operations, biotechnology, quantum technologies, semiconductors, advanced materials, aerospace, maritime systems and critical infrastructure.
Key questions this report answers
- How is advanced research becoming a strategic access surface across defence, cyber, quantum, semiconductors and other domains?
- What do documented cases and the record show about knowledge leakage from open science?
- How do national research-security models and university policy operate as the practical protective layer, and what are the actors and gaps?
- What are the effects on scientific collaboration and the strategic implications for defence-finance readers?
Inside this report
- From open science to research security
- Documented cases and what the record shows
- National research-security models
- University policy as the operational layer
- Effects on scientific collaboration
- Strategic implications for Defence Finance Monitor readers
- Conclusion
Who it's for
Strategy, corporate-development and investment teams that need an ecosystem-level view — budgets, industrial capacity and technology landscapes — before committing capital or capacity.
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Methodology, format & delivery
DFM reports are built from primary and official sources — TED procurement notices, CORDIS and the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, EIB operations, the NATO Innovation Fund portfolio, SIPRI data, official budget documents and company disclosures — read together with the underlying legal texts. Sources are cited in the document; it reflects them as of its publication date (20 June 2026). You receive a 19-page PDF, watermarked to you on every page, delivered on the confirmation page and by e-mail immediately after checkout (personal link valid 72 hours, up to 5 downloads). Guest checkout, single-user licence — Terms of Sale.
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