What Competence Center for Applied Security Technology does

CAST e.V. (Competence Center for Applied Security Technology) is a non-profit association (eingetragener Verein) founded on October 13, 1999, and headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany. It operates a competence network for applied IT security, delivering thematic workshops, conferences, and award programs (Förderpreis and Promotionspreis since 2001) to IT security practitioners, corporate security teams, and applied researchers. Its programming covers post-quantum cryptography (PQC), biometrics, smartcards, and identity management, with content developed in partnership with Fraunhofer SIT, Fraunhofer IGD, TU Darmstadt, and the ATHENE national cybersecurity research center.

CAST's core offerings are themed workshop series (CAST-FORUM, ID:SMART, PQC workshops), annual conferences, and the long-running award programs that recognize early-career IT security research. Workshops are typically priced at approximately €350-400 per participant, reflecting a non-commercial, educational positioning. Technical depth is supplied through partner-institution speakers rather than in-house R&D, and the association functions as a convening layer for Germany's applied security community rather than a product vendor.

The business model rests on three revenue streams: individual and corporate membership fees (with membership exceeding 100 organizations), workshop registration fees, and contracted service packages. As a registered non-profit, surpluses are reinvested into programming. The organization operates with 1-10 employees, supplemented by partner-institution staff contributions, reflecting a lean Vereine-style structure reliant on institutional sponsorship and volunteer-driven content production.

Name

Competence Center for Applied Security Technology

Legal name

Competence Center for Applied Security Technology e.V.

Website

https://cast-forum.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CAST e.V. is a Darmstadt-based non-profit association founded in 1999 that operates as a competence network for applied IT security, delivering workshops, conferences, and awards in partnership with Fraunhofer SIT, TU Darmstadt, and ATHENE for corporate and institutional members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Darmstadt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fee of 50 EUR per calendar year for individuals and organizations. No VAT is charged on membership fees. Membership provides access to the competence network and general assembly influence.
2. Service Package Fees: Annual service packages enabling all employees of a member organization to attend CAST workshops at reduced rates (up to 50% discount). Fees scale by organization size: 150 EUR (natural persons/public/non-profit), 150 EUR (1-20 employees), 450 EUR (21-100 employees), 950 EUR (101+ employees).
3. Workshop Participation Fees: Workshop fees charged for participation in CAST events. Standard workshop fee is 350 EUR (early bird) / 400 EUR (regular). Owners of CAST service packages pay 175 EUR (early bird) / 200 EUR. Additional discounts available for students and trainees. All prices include VAT.
4. Award Prize Money (Horst Görtz Stiftung): Prize money of 4,000 EUR total awarded annually through the CAST-Förderpreis IT-Sicherheit, funded by the Horst Görtz Stiftung. This represents an expense rather than revenue, but the sponsorship enables the award program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CAST e.V. operates a competence network that delivers IT security workshops, annual conferences, and professional development programs covering cryptography, biometrics, smartcards, public key infrastructure, network security, embedded systems, and post-quantum cryptography. The association offers membership-based access to its network, awards prizes for outstanding academic theses in IT security, and provides CPE credits recognized by (ISC)² and ISACA. It serves as a neutral forum connecting research institutions, industry, government agencies, and SMEs for knowledge transfer in applied security technology.

Product overview

CAST e.V. is a competency network and professional association for IT security based in Darmstadt, Germany, offering a portfolio of educational and professional development products. The core offerings include intensive workshops covering specialized IT security topics (cryptography, PKI, biometrics, network security, smartcards, malware analysis, post-quantum cryptography), annual conferences (BIOSIG for biometrics and electronic signatures, ID:SMART for electronic identities and smart cards), and award programs (CAST-Förderpreis IT-Sicherheit for outstanding theses and CAST Promotionspreis for doctoral dissertations). The association also provides CPE credit programs recognized by professional organizations like (ISC)² and ISACA, and facilitates knowledge exchange through working groups focused on various security domains. These products work together to advance IT security competence, foster networking between research and industry, and support professional development at all educational levels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CAST-Förderpreis IT-Sicherheit: Annual award for outstanding theses and academic work in the field of IT security, with prize money totaling 4,000 euros and free participation in CAST workshops.
• CAST Promotionspreis IT-Sicherheit
• ID:SMART

Products and services

• CAST Workshops Intensive training events covering IT security topics including cryptography, public key infrastructure, biometrics, network security, smartcards, malware analysis, and regulatory compliance such as the Cyber Resilience Act and eIDAS. Targeted at IT security professionals, researchers, and practitioners.
• BIOSIG International Conference of the Biometrics Special Interest Group Annual international conference focusing on biometrics and electronic signatures, organized in cooperation with the GI BIOSIG special interest group and the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), featuring expert talks and peer-reviewed paper presentations.
• ID:SMART Workshop Annual workshop focused on electronic identities, wallets, smart cards, and hardware security modules, serving as a reference event for researchers, standardization group members, and experts from industry and government.
• CAST-Förderpreis IT-Sicherheit (CAST Promotion Prize IT Security) Annual award recognizing outstanding student theses in IT security, awarded in two categories for master/diploma and bachelor theses, with prize money totaling 4,000 EUR and free workshop participation for winners, supported by the Horst Görtz Foundation.
• CAST Promotionspreis IT-Sicherheit (CAST PhD Prize IT Security) Award recognizing outstanding doctoral dissertations in IT security, promoting academic research excellence in the field.
• CPE Credits Program Professional development program offering Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits for participation in CAST events, recognized by organizations such as (ISC)² and ISACA for recertification purposes.
• CAST Working Groups (Arbeitskreise) Working groups formed around specific IT security topics where members collaborate, share knowledge, and advance research in areas such as cryptography, biometrics, and network security.

Quantifiable outcome

• Prize money of 4,000 EUR awarded annually to outstanding IT security theses
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fraunhofer Institut für Sichere Informationstechnologie (SIT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 October 1999CAST is co-founded by and co-located with Fraunhofer SIT in Darmstadt. The institute serves as the primary venue for CAST workshops and events. Fraunhofer SIT provides research expertise and infrastructure support to the competence network.
• Fraunhofer Institut für Graphische Datenverarbeitung (IGD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFraunhofer IGD is a founding partner of CAST. The institute provides expertise in security technology for graphics and communication systems and hosts the original CAST founding event on October 13, 1999.
• Technische Universität DarmstadtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTU Darmstadt, through its Chair of Cryptography, Computer Algebra and Distributed Systems, is a founding partner of CAST. The university contributes academic research expertise and supports education in IT security, including the IT security focus area in the computer science curriculum.
• Nationales Forschungszentrum für angewandte Cybersicherheit ATHENEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerATHENE is Germany's national research center for applied cybersecurity. The center is partnered with CAST for knowledge transfer and research collaboration in cybersecurity topics.
• Allianz für Cyber-SicherheitcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Alliance for Cyber Security (Allianz für Cyber-Sicherheit) is a partnership network for cybersecurity in Germany. CAST participates as a partner, contributing expertise and participating in joint initiatives.
• TeleTrusT Deutschland e.V.coreGTM or Marketing PartnerTeleTrusT is a German IT security association. CAST is listed as a TeleTrusT partner event, contributing to the cybersecurity expertise ecosystem in Germany.
• Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe German Computer Society (GI) co-organizes the CAST Promotionspreis IT-Sicherheit (PhD award) with CAST. The BIOSIG working group of GI cooperates with CAST on biometric and electronic signature workshops.
• Hochschule DarmstadtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHochschule Darmstadt (h_da) is a partner of CAST, contributing academic expertise in applied sciences and cybersecurity education.
• Software-ClusterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Software-Cluster is a partnership contributing to CAST's ecosystem, focusing on software-related security topics and the software industry in Germany.
• Smart Electronic Factory e.V.minorGTM or Marketing PartnerCAST is represented on the Smart Electronic Factory network page. SEF focuses on digital transformation of industrial SMEs, and CAST contributes expertise in cybersecurity, knowledge transfer, and continuing education to this ecosystem.
• Hessisches Ministerium des Innern, für Sicherheit und HeimatschutzminorOthersThe Hessian Ministry of the Interior is a member of CAST, participating in the competence network for cybersecurity and public safety.
• Fraunhofer-Institut für System- und Innovationsforschung ISIminorOthersFraunhofer ISI is a member of CAST, contributing research expertise in innovation and systems research to the competence network.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ISACA: Global professional association for IT governance, risk, and cybersecurity that issues CPE-eligible training and certifications (CISA, CISM, CRISC). Directly comparable to CAST as a membership-based IT security competence body whose events CAST's workshops are recognized by for CPE credits.
• TeleTrusT Deutschland e.V. German IT security association that, like CAST, aggregates industry, research, and government stakeholders and co-hosts partner events. Directly comparable as a membership-driven IT security competence body in Germany.
• Cloud Security Alliance (CSA): Global nonprofit organization driving best practices, certifications (CCSK, CCSP collaboration), and research working groups in cybersecurity. Comparable as a membership-driven competence network producing research-to-training content, similar in structural form to CAST.
• OWASP Foundation: Open community producing cybersecurity knowledge (tools, documentation, standards) via volunteer working groups and conferences. Comparable as an IT security community-driven competence network, though focused on application security.
• (ISC)²: Global nonprofit membership body for cybersecurity professionals (CISSP, CCSP) that runs training, events, and certification. Comparable in mission (IT security professional development) and structurally similar as a nonprofit association.
• Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI): Germany's national computer science society and a strategic partner of CAST. GI runs working groups, conferences, and award programs in IT (including the BIOSIG group that co-organizes with CAST), making it the closest functional analogue as a German IT competence network.
• Bitkom e.V. Germany's leading digital industry association offering working groups, events, and policy advocacy across cybersecurity, AI, and digital transformation. Comparable as a large German industry/competence association overlapping CAST's SME cybersecurity and policy themes.

Emerging players

• Center for Internet Security (CIS): US-based nonprofit producing widely adopted security benchmarks, controls, and training resources for practitioners and organizations. Comparable as a nonprofit cybersecurity competence and standards body, with overlapping education and best-practice dissemination functions.

Others

• ATHENE (Nationales Forschungszentrum für angewandte Cybersicherheit): Germany's national applied cybersecurity research center and a core partner of CAST. Comparable as part of the same Darmstadt ecosystem and an enabling stakeholder that feeds research into CAST's training programs, rather than a direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• SANS Institute: Largest globally scaled commercial cybersecurity training provider with deep CPE-recognized curricula. Comparable as an IT security training and certification brand but operates at much larger commercial scale and broader geographic reach than CAST's niche workshop model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/castforum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cast-ev

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Competence Center for Applied Security Technology