News

We would like to invite you to the public defense of the dissertation of Ing. Anton Firc, which will take place on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at 3:00 p.m. in room C209. The dissertation was written under the supervision of doc. Kamil Malinka.

Anton Firc is a member of the Security@FIT research group and, among other things, a recipient of the Joseph Fourier Award. His research focuses on the security implications of voice deepfakes. He has been involved in cybersecurity since his master's studies, when he was attracted to the topic of a thesis written by Kamil Malinka: "I was looking for more detailed information on deepfakes, and I was very interested in the possibilities of technology that, figuratively speaking, can create another person. Around 2020, it was an unexplored topic. Everything we did was new in a way. The transition to a doctorate was then just a natural step." The situation has changed significantly since then, and today our researchers are often confronted with demands to popularize the topic, as well as requests for tools and specific professional cooperation, as Firc admits in an interview from this summer.

Firc's dissertation is based on the premise that audio deepfakes pose a threat to computer security from the outset because they increase the effectiveness of social engineering attacks and allow speaker recognition systems to be circumvented. Previous research has focused mainly on detection, but it lacked a comprehensive security framework based on an understanding of the attacker, their goals, and their methods, so it was unclear how detection should work and how to build defenses against voice deepfakes accordingly. Anton Firc's work focuses precisely on how to evaluate voice deepfakes in a structured way from a cybersecurity perspective and, based on that, propose effective defenses. A key step is understanding the attacker model, which is a prerequisite for the subsequent development and evaluation of protection methods. Among other things, the work includes a proposal for a framework for evaluating detection methods that addresses known problems with deepfake detection, such as poor generalization and limited comparability. The analysis shows that people are unable to reliably recognize deepfakes in real attacks. Therefore, an expanded model of protection against deepfake threats is needed, one that includes multiple measures active at different stages of the deepfake life cycle and offers structured protection. The author also addresses the broader context of voice deepfakes, such as public awareness as a proactive defense strategy.

You can read the abstract of the dissertation here.

You are cordially invited to attend the defense!

On Tuesday, September 23, a rapid chess tournament was held at the U Kachničky student club. Thirty-seven students from BUT, MUNI, and MENDELU participated, and teachers and graduates were also represented. Two qualified referees (both from FIT) supervised the tournament. The winner was Oleksii Shelest, also a student at FIT BUT.

This was not the first time such a tournament had been held at our faculty, and it was no coincidence. Competitions at Kachnička have been held regularly over the past five years. The events have had a great impact and success. For example, this year's third annual Interfaculty Team Tournament attracted two dozen four-member teams to Kachnička. It is certainly pleasing that the cup for the winners returned to home turf (the first year was dominated by the FIT VUT "A" team, and in the second year, the FSI VUT "A" team took first place). Our chess players also represent VUT in the online global University Chess Championship.

Why our faculty and chess tournaments? We have a lot of chess players, and since last academic year, FIT has also had its own Chess Club. This year, it is again led by a very experienced chess player and coach (one of the few in the Czech Republic with a 2nd class chess coach license), Bc. Ondřej Havelka. The chess club offers lectures on chess theory and demonstrations of interesting games. Of course, there is always time for the game itself, with experienced players helping less skilled players with tactical/strategic insights or by finding the right moves in a given position. The purpose of the chess club is to help players improve their chess skills and to bring together the chess community (not only) at FIT.

The club meets every third week of the semester (starting this week) on Wednesdays from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in Small Hall R211. You really don't have to be a chess master – the club is also suitable for beginners who will learn the basics of the game, master their first chess tactics, and understand the importance of piece coordination. Advanced players will enrich each other with tactics and insights from other players through games and subsequent analysis.

If you are interested, please contact the club organizer, Mr. Martin Benovič (xbenov00@stud.fit.vut.cz).

If you are considering moving your research towards a business venture and would like to receive specific recommendations and tips, then the Innovation Day event is just for you. It will take place on Monday, October 6, 2025, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the BUT Rector's Office (Antonínská 1, Brno).

What can the event offer you?

• You will learn about what the university's Knowledge Transfer Department (OTZ) offers in the area of business support and how it can support your business plan.
• You will understand the concept of the "startup/spin-off BUT" brand and the benefits of using it.
• You will learn about specific examples of successful companies that have emerged from the BUT environment, including Codasip, which is associated with our faculty. The Innovation Day will offer an opportunity to talk to the founders of companies that have achieved success on the international market.
• You will learn how the university approaches new legal provisions in the field of knowledge transfer and the direction in which support for entrepreneurial activities at BUT is heading.
• And, of course, there will be practical recommendations for the use of educational activities, competitions, and support programs for entrepreneurs.

The event will feature presentations by BUT Rector Prof. Ladislav Janíček, BUT Vice-Rector for Research and Knowledge Transfer Prof. Martin Weiter, entrepreneurs and BUT alumni Karel Masařík (Codasip), Milan Šimek (Sewio), and Jan Neuman (Nenovision), and many others.

Participation is free of charge, but prior registration is required. Please register via IS BUT by October 2, 2025, or until maximum capacity is reached.

For more information, visit the event website.

This initiative is part of Innovation Week, in which BUT is a key academic partner.