Decent Cybersecurity Among the Top Ten in NATO DIANA. The Critical Infrastructure Association of the Slovak Republic Calls It an Exceptional Achievement
The Critical Infrastructure Association (AKI SR) of the Slovak Republic considers the selection of the SynapseCommand platform among the ten projects in the NATO DIANA programme a significant recognition of the technological and professional calibre of Slovakia’s security industry. The solution was developed by Decent Cybersecurity s. r. o., a member company of the association. It stood out in international competition and has been given the opportunity to undergo further technological testing within the NATO environment. The result also confirms that Slovak technology companies can actively contribute to developing Alliance capabilities in command, control and decision support.
A total of 427 projects from 29 Allied countries were submitted to the Decision Superiority for NATO Warfighters challenge. NATO DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic) selected ten solutions, including SynapseCommand by Decent Cybersecurity. The company is led by its founder, Matej Michalko, who also serves as Chairman of the AKI SR Supervisory Board. According to the company, the selected projects represent approximately 2.34% of all submissions.
For AKI SR, this result has significance beyond the recognition of one member company’s technological solution. It is a concrete example of a Slovak company’s ability to develop technologies that can be used in a demanding international security environment. It also highlights the potential of Slovakia’s technology and research sectors to contribute to developing capabilities of strategic importance to the security and defence of Allied countries.
What the SynapseCommand platform offers
SynapseCommand is a platform designed to support the decision-making processes of military staffs. It can process and assess information from sensor systems and intelligence reports, compare alternative courses of action, and prepare materials to support commanders’ decisions. It is designed as an additional technological layer for existing Command and Control (C2) systems, while preserving human oversight and accountability for the final decision.
As part of its programme, Decent Cybersecurity is working with Palantir Technologies to integrate the solution into NATO’s Maven Smart System, with support from NATO Task Force Maven. This collaboration creates an opportunity to assess the platform’s interoperability with existing technological tools used across the Alliance.
Post-quantum cryptography is an important part of the company’s technological focus. SynapseCommand creates an auditable record of decisions and the supporting materials associated with them. In deployments with the appropriate security safeguards, it uses post-quantum digital signatures to verify the integrity of recorded data and document its provenance. The company is also developing the use of blockchain technologies to ensure the traceability of digital records’ origin and change history.
From an operational perspective, it is particularly important to be able to reconstruct the information basis for a specific decision, verify the integrity of the materials used, and identify unauthorised changes to the recorded history. These mechanisms are especially important in environments where decision quality depends on the trustworthiness, timeliness and demonstrable integrity of the information being processed.
The solution was demonstrated in September 2026 at SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe), the headquarters of Allied Command Operations in Mons, Belgium. The company plans to support the High North wargame at Oxford Brookes University and present the platform at NATO Headquarters on 24 November 2026.
No question of chance
Tibor Straka, President of the Slovak Critical Infrastructure Association, sees the result in a broader context.
“When 427 projects from 29 countries enter a challenge and only ten are selected, it is not a matter of chance, luck or good marketing. It confirms that our people can build a solution that stands up to direct comparison with the world’s best. For Slovakia, this is more valuable than any promotional campaign, because within Allied structures we are beginning to be seen as suppliers of security technologies—not as a country that merely consumes security,” said T. Straka.
A message for the future
The Critical Infrastructure Association of the Slovak Republic sees this achievement as a responsibility, not a full stop. It has set out several clear priorities for the coming years. The first is to transfer experience gained in the defence sector to civilian critical infrastructure, where the same principles of verifiability and traceability are even more lacking than in military systems.
The second is to prepare for the transition to post-quantum cryptography before it becomes necessary. For systems designed to last for decades, decisions made today will have consequences at a time when there may no longer be room to correct them. The third priority is education and talent development, without which even the best solution cannot be sustained in operation.
AKI SR says it will build on this result in its further cooperation with government institutions and international partners. The association also emphasises that it is there for its members: helping them present their solutions, find pathways into international programmes and tenders, navigate legislation, and prepare for new security requirements.
In its view, one member’s success opens doors for the entire ecosystem. The association should be a place where such experience does not remain within a single company, but becomes an opportunity for others.
Source: TASR – Obrovský úspech: Slováci z Decent Cybersecurity uspeli v NATO DIANA
