Organized by CTU Technology Transfer, the Get Spin-off/Start-up Ready! program connects students, PhD candidates, and researchers with business mentors, investors, and technology commercialization experts. Sixteen participants from across CTU’s faculties were selected for the first cohort, including six students from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.
The winning project, Decor, sits at the intersection of cutting-edge cybersecurity research and real-world industry needs. It is being developed by Muris Sladić, a PhD student at the Department of Computer Science of CTU FEE, and Sebastian Garcia, head of Stratosphere Lab. This seventeen-member research group operates within the AI Center at CTU FEE and focuses on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and network technologies.
Decor addresses an increasingly common scenario in which an attacker obtains an employee’s credentials and gains access to a corporate network without triggering traditional security alarms.
“Today’s security solutions are very effective at defending against attacks from the outside. The problem begins when an attacker gets inside the network using stolen credentials. Our goal is to create an environment that looks like a company’s real infrastructure but is actually a controlled trap designed to detect and contain attackers,” explains Muris Sladić.
When the Hacker Walks into a Trap
The technology is based on the concept of cyber deception. Rather than simply detecting malicious activity, it creates realistic decoy services and systems that attackers interact with while believing they are operating inside a genuine corporate environment. This gives defenders valuable time to respond.
“In traditional warfare, deception has been a part of defense strategies for thousands of years. In cybersecurity, however, this approach is only beginning to gain traction. Our goal is to help organizations take control of what attackers see and what they believe,” says Sebastian Garcia, head of Stratosphere Lab.
According to Garcia, time can make the difference between a minor security incident and a breach costing millions.
“If we can keep an attacker occupied for two or three hours inside a controlled environment, that can be the difference between a successful defense and a major data breach.”
Artificial intelligence plays a key role in the solution. While AI helps defenders create convincing deception environments, it is also increasingly being used by attackers.
“Artificial intelligence is dramatically increasing the capabilities of both defenders and attackers. Attacks are becoming faster and more sophisticated than ever before. That is exactly why we believe AI must become part of the defense strategy. Human teams alone can no longer react quickly enough to everything happening in modern networks,” Garcia adds.
From Research to Product
Decor builds on research that Muris Sladić has been pursuing since his master’s thesis and throughout his PhD studies. Early versions of the technology consisted of individual AI-powered honeypots—fake services designed to detect attackers. Over time, these evolved into a comprehensive system that can be deployed in enterprise environments.
The team is currently finalizing its Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and engaging with potential customers regarding pilot deployments.
“The technology already works and has been tested both in laboratory conditions and in limited real-world environments. We are now focused on preparing it for deployment in companies and ensuring it meets the highest standards of security and trustworthiness,” says Sladić.
According to him, the biggest challenge today is gaining customer trust. The technology itself is already functional, but organizations need assurance that a new security solution will not introduce additional risks. For that reason, the team designed the system so that it does not require any additional hardware or software agents to be installed within the protected organization.
The first pilot deployments and production-environment validation could begin within the next few months.
A Program That Opens the Door to Entrepreneurship
Participation in the Get Spin-off/Start-up Ready! program played a significant role in the project’s development. The program offers mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs, practical workshops, and one-on-one consultations.
“As a computer scientist, I had limited experience with the business side of things. The program helped me understand how to think about customers, business models, and market validation. The most valuable part was working with mentors from industry who helped us look at our project from a completely different perspective,” says Muris Sladić.
Dr. Sebastian Garcia also speaks highly of the initiative.
“You can see a genuine effort at CTU to help researchers and students build startups and spin-offs. The program brings together experienced mentors and experts who help participants navigate the worlds of entrepreneurship and technology commercialization.”
Applications for the next edition of the Get Spin-off/Start-up Ready! program are open until 8 September 2026. The program is intended for students, PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and academics interested in exploring the commercial potential of their ideas and research results.
“If you feel that your research or project could have real-world impact, I would definitely encourage you to apply. In the worst case, you gain a new perspective on your work. In the best case, you may discover that you have the foundation of a future startup,” concludes Muris Sladić, reflecting on his experience in the program.
