Text and image courtesy of Umeå University.

WASP researcher Alexandre Bartel at Umeå University has been awarded Nordea’s Scientific Prize for his research and teaching in cybersecurity. His work uncovers vulnerabilities in software systems and is particularly relevant at a time when AI-generated code and cyberattacks are becoming increasingly common.

Alexandre Bartel is a Professor at the Department of Computing Science and leads a research group in software engineering and security at Umeå University. His research has led to new tools that make it possible to detect vulnerabilities at an early stage in the software development process and to prevent attacks on digital systems.

“Society relies on software. Without built-in security, the consequences can be serious. We have seen it happen multiple times in Sweden,” says Alexandre Bartel.

Notable examples include the 2021 cyberattack on Coop, which prevented customers from paying in stores, and the attack on Kalix municipality, which knocked out several critical systems. In 2025, a ransomware attack targeted the company Miljödata in which the attackers leaked personal information of employees of Swedish institutions including Umeå University.

High security requirements in banking

The banking sector, with its high demands on security, is one area where Alexandre Bartel’s research is particularly significant. Software used for banking transactions and digital services must be protected against intrusions to counter the growing number of financial and identity theft crimes.

Today, an increasing amount of software code is generated with the help of AI. While AI-generated code can be efficient to produce, it may also contain hidden security vulnerabilities.

“We have seen cases where people blindly trust the output of AI systems. This is a big problem because we know that AI sometimes hallucinates. Attackers can also publish large amounts of insecure code on the internet that the models learn from, creating a risk that they will generate code with built-in vulnerabilities.”

Training in cyber security

In recent years, Alexandre Bartel has received several international awards. His research is used by both software developers and researchers around the world. He has also been recognised for his commitment to teaching and has established a popular course in cybersecurity that attracts students from all over Sweden.

“I am very happy to receive this award. It is a great recognition of my work in software engineering and cybersecurity, and an encouragement to continue contributing to more secure digital systems,” says Alexandre Bartel.

Nordea’s Norrland Foundation annually awards the scientific prize to researchers at Umeå University. The prize amounts to SEK 100,000 and is awarded to researchers who have made outstanding contributions to promoting scientific research and development, and whose research is considered relevant to banking and beneficial to the region. The prize is awarded at the University’s Annual Celebration in October.

Among previous recipients are Sofia Lundberg of the Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics (2025) and Liselotte Eriksson of the Umeå Centre for Gender Studies (2024).

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