SOCCER Knowledge and research database platform

The SOCCER Knowledge and research database platform is sharing platform of the SOCCER project. It serves as a structured environment for sharing cybersecurity-related knowledge, resources and materials across public and academic communities. It supports both open dissemination of information and controlled academic sharing. Only verified users can publish content, and each contribution is attributed to its author and owning organisation. Contributors decide who can see each item, from the general public to selected individuals.

By registering or using the platform, you agree to the Terms of Use published on this page.

Data Categories

Each item published on the platform must be assigned to one of the following categories.

1. Datasets

The Datasets section provides a centralised space for sharing cybersecurity-related data resources intended for research, analysis, operational support and collaborative information exchange. It contains structured and unstructured datasets that may support threat analysis, incident investigation, vulnerability research, risk assessment, machine learning applications and broader cybersecurity activities. Content may include malware sample metadata, network traffic captures, disk images, threat intelligence feeds, phishing indicators, vulnerability datasets, attack simulation data, security event logs, forensic artefacts, anonymised incident data, benchmarking datasets and other cybersecurity-relevant collections of information. Datasets containing personal data must be anonymised before upload; pseudonymisation alone is not sufficient. Malware samples, exploits, disk images, forensic artefacts and other potentially harmful or sensitive data may be shared only for research, education, incident analysis or threat intelligence. They must be published as Private, clearly labelled in the title or description, and uploaded as password-protected archives, with the password stated in the description. Datasets larger than 500 MB, or datasets already published in public repositories (e.g. Zenodo), should be shared as a link together with a description.

The section is intended to support collaboration between organisations, researchers, analysts and cybersecurity practitioners by enabling controlled sharing and reuse of data resources for defensive, analytical, educational and research purposes.

2. Education

The Education section provides a collection of cybersecurity-related educational materials intended to support training, awareness and professional development. It contains resources designed for educators, trainers, students and organisations seeking to improve cybersecurity knowledge and practical competencies. Content may include presentations, teaching methodologies, training materials, course outlines, workshop content, awareness resources, instructional manuals, laboratory exercises, certification preparation materials and other educational assets covering both foundational and advanced cybersecurity topics. The section is intended to support the development of cybersecurity skills and enable the reuse and adaptation of educational content across academic, professional and organisational environments.

3. Research

The Research section provides a repository for cybersecurity-related research materials. It contains scientific, technical and analytical resources covering a broad range of cybersecurity topics and disciplines. Content may include research papers on malware analysis, ransomware trends, artificial intelligence in cybersecurity, threat detection methodologies, cryptography, digital forensics, vulnerability analysis, secure software development, cyber threat intelligence and more. Additional materials may include academic publications, white papers, conference proceedings, technical studies, analytical reports, case studies, surveys, experimental datasets and other research-oriented documentation. Where publisher policies permit, contributors may upload preprints; otherwise, they should provide a link to the published version (e.g. via DOI) together with an abstract. The section is intended to support collaboration between researchers, academic institutions, industry experts and practitioners by enabling access to research outputs and fostering the dissemination and advancement of cybersecurity knowledge.

4. Security Guidelines

The Security Guidelines section provides practical guidance for protecting systems and responding to security incidents. It contains procedures, recommendations and best practices that institutions can adopt or adapt for their own environments. Content may include incident response procedures and playbooks, SOC and CSIRT operating procedures, security policies and templates, hardening and secure configuration guides, vulnerability management procedures, checklists, lessons learned from incidents, and recommendations based on recognised standards and frameworks. The section is intended to support the sharing of proven solutions to recurring security incidents, so that procedures developed and tested at one institution can be reused by others.

5. Software and Code

The Software and Code section provides a space for sharing cybersecurity-related software resources, scripts, tools, automation components and source code intended to support research, education, analysis and operational cybersecurity activities. Content may include defensive security tools, incident response utilities, forensic scripts, malware analysis tooling, automation scripts, configuration templates, proof-of-concept implementations, training utilities and other cybersecurity-related software resources. Publicly shareable and open-source projects should be hosted on dedicated source code management platforms such as GitHub or GitLab, with only the repository link and a description uploaded to the platform. This approach supports proper version management, collaboration workflows, dependency tracking and long-term maintainability. For software that cannot be publicly disclosed, contributors may either: - upload source code archives as Private within the owning organisation or the Cybersecurity Academic Network, or share them with selected users as collaborators; or - provide a description of the software together with contact information or an access request procedure, allowing controlled sharing on a case-by-case basis. This approach enables both open collaboration and controlled distribution of sensitive cybersecurity tooling while supporting appropriate security and governance practices.

How to Get Access

Public content is available to anyone without an account. Access to restricted content and publishing requires a user account: 1. Registration request. Registration is on request only. There is no open self-registration. To apply, contact soccer@upjs.sk. 2. Review. The administrators assess the legitimacy of the request and its connection to cybersecurity, and may ask for additional information. Requests that cannot be verified are declined. 3. E-mail verification. After confirming your e-mail address, you are automatically added to the Public organisation as a member. 4. Cybersecurity Academic Network (optional). Users from institutions participating in the SOCCER project are added to the Cybersecurity Academic Network or to their institution's sub-organisation on request from that institution.

The user interface is available in English (default), Slovak, Czech, Polish, German and French.

Organisations and Roles

Every item belongs to exactly one organisation: - Public organisation – includes all registered users of the platform, including external professionals with a legitimate interest in cybersecurity. - Cybersecurity Academic Network (CAN) – includes selected users from the institutions participating in the SOCCER project. Each institution has its own sub-organisation within CAN. Within each organisation, users hold one of three roles, assigned by the organisation admin according to the need-to-have principle: - Member – can view the organisation's private content. - Editor – can also publish content, edit or delete the organisation's content, make it public or private, and add collaborators. - Admin – can also add and remove users, assign their roles, and edit the organisation. Editors appointed by each organisation are responsible for the quality of the content they publish. Roles may be revoked in the event of a breach of the Terms of Use.

Who Can See Your Content

When publishing, you choose the owning organisation and the visibility of the content: - Public – visible to everyone on the Internet, including visitors who are not logged in. - Private in the Public organisation – visible to all registered users of the platform. - Private in the Cybersecurity Academic Network – visible to members of CAN and all its sub-organisations. - Private in a sub-organisation of CAN – visible only to members of that institution. - Collaborators – a private item can additionally be shared with selected individual users who already have an account. A collaborator with the member role can view and download the item; a collaborator with the editor role can also edit it, change its visibility and delete it.

Private content is marked with a PRIVATE label under its title. If in doubt, publish the content as Private first, check it, and make it Public only when you are sure. Public content is accessible to anyone on the Internet.

Publishing Content

Publishing content involves two steps: 1. Describe the content. In Datasets → Add Dataset, fill in the metadata. The title, URL, description, category, organisation and visibility are required. The licence, author, author e-mail, source, version and tags are optional, but they help others find and reuse your content. 2. Add resources. Upload files of up to 500 MB each, or add links to larger or externally hosted content, and give each resource a name, description and format. After saving, check the result on the dataset page. You can later edit the metadata, reorder resources and manage collaborators through the Manage button.

Rules for Contributors

  • Share only content that you have the right to share with the chosen audience.
  • Select a licence wherever possible. Open licences such as Creative Commons CC BY are recommended for public content.
  • Anonymise all personal data before upload.
  • Do not modify content published by other contributors without their written consent.
  • Upload files of up to 500 MB each. Larger files share as links to external repositories.
  • Write titles and descriptions in English where the content is intended for the whole community. Content in national languages is also welcome.
  • Keep your content up to date. You can edit or delete your content at any time.

Contributors are fully responsible for the legality, accuracy and licensing of the content they publish. The administrators do not review content before publication, but may remove content that violates the Terms of Use without prior notice.

Rules for All Users

  • Use content only as its licence permits.
  • Do not redistribute content that is not public or openly licensed.
  • Do not attempt unauthorised access to restricted content, other accounts or the platform infrastructure.
  • Use the platform only for lawful purposes and respect export-control rules.
  • Uploaded files are not scanned. Download files at your own risk and scan them with up-to-date security software before opening or executing them.

In the event of a breach of the Terms of Use, the administrators may suspend or terminate accounts and report suspected criminal content to the competent authorities.

Data Protection and Operation

The platform is operated and hosted by Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice. All communication is encrypted using HTTPS, user and system activity is logged, and the platform is regularly backed up. The personal data of registered users (name, username, e-mail address and affiliation) and activity logs are processed by Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice in accordance with the GDPR. They are used solely for account management, access control and platform security, and are not shared with third parties. More information on the processing of personal data can be found at: https://www.upjs.sk/en/information/public-relations/personal-data-protection/ Content is stored for the lifetime of the platform, which will be maintained after the end of the project. There is no automatic deletion.

Information about the SOCCER Project

The SOCCER project is dedicated to strengthening the cybersecurity capabilities and resilience of the EU, with a particular focus on ensuring a cyber-secure academic sector. Tailored to CEE countries, the initiative supports the establishment and advancement of Security Operations Centres (SOCs) within universities and Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs). The SOCCER project is funded under Grant Agreement No. 101128073 and is supported by the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre. More information about the SOCCER project: https://soccer.agh.edu.pl/en/

Contact Information

For registration requests, technical issues, data protection requests, reports of content violating the Terms of Use and any other questions, please contact: soccer@upjs.sk