Cybersecurity Innovation Fund - CIF-NL

To protect our digital ecosystems from threats such as malware, phishing attacks and data theft, it is essential to have a strong cybersecurity infrastructure in place to provide prevention and response proportionate to the speed, complexity or scale at which attacks can occur. This makes automation of cybersecurity solutions necessary.

This subarea welcomes submissions in the field of the automatic prediction, detection and countering of cyber threats and the automatic dissemination of knowledge and information on cyber threats. One example is the development of digital twins. Another is using artificial intelligence to develop algorithms and systems that can predict cyber attacks based on artificial intelligence, and then take action (possibly automatically).

At present, we have a shortage of capable and qualified cyber personnel. This is an obstacle to the effective development and implementation of cybersecurity. A lack of skilled professionals and the high staff turnover mean that companies and governments are not able to fill their cybersecurity vacancies. There are currently few programmes designed to train and retain suitable employees in the cybersecurity sector.

This subarea welcomes submissions that make a contribution to retaining and developing the skills of cybersecurity personnel, such as:

• developing an innovative cybersecurity education module, training programme or learning environment;
• the development or elaboration of specific competence profiles in line with existing frameworks;
• a programme for exchanging personnel and knowledge between industry and government or business-to-business.

The rise of artificial intelligence and big data has created an increasing need for data sharing between parties. It is important that this data is shared proportionately, securely and in a way that protects people’s privacy. This can be done using existing privacy laws and regulations. But also when parties want to share confidential cybersecurity data with each other.

This subarea welcomes submissions that enable proportionate, secure and privacy-friendly sharing of cybersecurity data. These might include technical solutions, such as synthetic data, multi-party computation (MPC) and (quantum-safe) cryptography. But they can also give support to parties in a cybersecurity information-sharing partnership.

For cybersecurity solutions that are (or appear to be) small in scope, it can be difficult to find funding. This is due to a possible lack of commercial interest. Yet this type of solution can be of great importance for the security of organisations and even for our national security. This subarea encompasses two types of projects:

1. Projects that offer highly specific solutions with a single goal: the national security of the Netherlands – in other words, projects that can have a major impact in the Netherlands. 
   For example: a solution that improves the security of an industrial control system that is only used in one specific location in the Netherlands.
2. Cybersecurity solutions that are only used for national security purposes at present but have the potential for wider application in new market segments.

These subareas are key when assessing your application. It is important to make a strong case for how your cybersecurity innovation project connects to one or more of these four subareas. Your project must also have a central focus that connects primarily to one of these subareas. It is preferable if you apply for CIF-NL as part of a partnership, but this is not compulsory.