Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

CSIC is Spain's largest public research organization, dedicated to advancing scientific knowledge across a broad spectrum of disciplines including natural sciences, life sciences, social sciences, and humanities. It carries out basic and applied research through a nationwide network of institutes and centers that collaborate with universities, hospitals, and industry partners. The council's activities encompass laboratory experimentation, field studies, data analysis, and the dissemination of results via publications, conferences, and technology transfer initiatives. By providing expertise and infrastructure, CSIC supports national innovation policies and contributes to addressing societal challenges such as climate change, health, and food security. Its services are primarily directed toward the Spanish scientific community, but it also engages in international collaborations and European research programs.

Headquartered in Madrid, CSIC operates under the auspices of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, making it a government‑funded entity without private owners or subsidiaries. The organization's scale is reflected in its extensive presence, with research facilities located in all autonomous communities and a workforce that includes thousands of researchers, technicians, and support staff. A distinguishing attribute of CSIC is its multidisciplinary mandate, which allows it to integrate knowledge from disparate fields and to act as a national reference point for scientific advice and policy formulation. Notably, in July 2022 the council experienced a ransomware attack attributed to Russian actors that disrupted internet connectivity across its network, prompting defensive isolation measures that left most of its centers offline for weeks while confirming that no sensitive data was exfiltrated. This incident highlighted CSIC's role as a critical node in Spain's research infrastructure and underscored the growing cybersecurity threats faced by public research institutions.