FireEye, an advanced cyber attack prevention specialist, has announced the soft opening of a research and development (R&D) centre in Dresden, Germany.

The FireEye European R&D team will work closely with local universities to empirically test FireEye endpoint threat defence technology and research threat intelligence in tandem with existing FireEye R&D centres in Singapore and Bangalore. The new R&D centre will officially open on 6th March 2014.

Based in the town of Dresden, the FireEye European R&D team will conduct advanced mathematical research through techniques known as ‘formal methods’ to validate the security of the FireEye endpoint technology. Goals of the centre’s research include providing statistical evidence that establish standards for threat detection efficacy for FireEye products, while continuing to advance security measures for future products.

The centre will initially host 15 researchers on the formal methods team and has partnered with Technische Universität Dresden as well as other top European universities to inspire, recruit, and produce the best expertise and knowledge in the security industry. Led by Nat Hendrik Tews, software development engineer at FireEye, the team will provide statistical insights into product and research validity as a means to inform both customers and product engineers.

Tews said: "We’re taking the mathematical techniques used to prove airplane worthiness and applying them to FireEye technology.

"We aim to not only help to nourish European cyber security talent, but to produce the right expertise to help keep one step ahead of the cybercriminals, and, ultimately, keep our customers as safe and secure as possible."

The research and development centre is the company’s third such facility. The European research team will join FireEye research teams based in Singapore and Bangalore. With the new R&D centre, FireEye now has access to round-the-clock threat and product intelligence from teams based across the globe.

"We’re committed to providing our customers with the best security solutions to combat modern threats and our new European research centre is a core part of delivering on that promise," said David DeWalt, FireEye chairman and CEO. "We’re happy to invest in such a unique and inspiring region where we can develop the next generation of security talent."