NEXIS: European cybersecurity calls

This European grant is for projects that contribute to data analysis for infrastructure resilience. Specifically, projects should contribute to achieving one or more of the following goals:

• Improved risk identification in infrastructure networks and smart cities through real-time analysis (including big data) on secure platforms for public and private actors. All this is within legal and public frameworks.
• Tools and processes that help stakeholders identify, analyse, assess and monitor risks. This is done using various data sources such as audio, video and web content.
• Fast and continuous real-time identification, classification and tracking of hazards in infrastructure networks and supply chains.
• Interfaces and improved collaboration between detection and response systems, national/EU risk management systems and remote operations tools.
• Increased cyber resilience of industrial future networks and cloud data in specific infrastructure domains.
• Improved ability to map the risk factors in network infrastructure in real-time using 'earth observation' and location data.
   
• Opening period call: 27 June 2024 - 20 November 2024
• Budget: € 5 million
• Read more about this call on the European Commission's Funding & Tender portal 

This European grant aims to research ways to develop and assess security in software and hardware. Projects should contribute to one or more of the following objectives:

• Improved security techniques for hardware and software; resilient system designs.
• Improved hardware and software testing access in virtual, closed and secure environments.
• Systematic and, where possible, automated study of vulnerabilities, software analysis and security.
• Reliable, certifiable hardware and software.
• Artificial intelligence-based security services such as predictive security, advanced anomaly and intrusion detection, and system health checks.
   
• Call opening period: 27 June 2024 - 20 November 2024
• Budget: € 37 million
• Read more about this call on the European Commission's Funding & Tender portal 

Projects should contribute to one or more of the following goals:

• Increased understanding by police authorities of emerging (digital and especially physical) threats in the Internet-of-Things (IoT) environment.
• Modern tools for European police authorities and security professionals to tackle emerging crimes related to IoT. This considers legal and ethical rules, EU fundamental rights and cost-benefit considerations.
• Lawful access to and exploitation of evidence in the IoT environment.
• Improved best practices (legal, organisational, technical) to access and exploit IoT during an investigation, including developing relevant tools and training materials.
   
• Call opening period: 27 June 2024 - 20 November 2024
• Budget: € 5 million
• Read more about this call on the European Commission's Funding & Tender portal 

Projects should contribute to one or more of the following goals:

• Strengthening current post-quantum cryptographic algorithms and contributing to further standardisation.
• User-friendly tools for large-scale implementation of post-quantum cryptographic algorithms based on state-of-the-art standards.
• Secure and efficient transition from pre- to post-quantum encryption via tools that implement a hybrid approach. Here, recognised pre-quantum algorithms are combined with complementary post-quantum algorithms.
• Gradual introduction of post-quantum algorithms or protocols in new or existing applications.
• Examples and successful practical implementations of post-quantum cryptographic algorithms on different hardware and software platforms.
• Application-oriented recommendations for the widespread implementation of post-quantum cryptography across the EU.
   
• Call opening period: 27 June 2024 - 20 November 2024
• Budget: € 23.4 million
• Read more about this call on the European Commission's Funding & Tender portal 

Projects should contribute to one or more of the following goals:

• Diminishing the attractiveness of cryptocurrencies for criminals and terrorists by enhancing the traceability of cryptocurrency transactions.
• Lawful tools and methods for police authorities to better trace virtual currency transactions related to criminal activities.
• Recommendations for better regulation of the crypto market and better regulation of the exchange of transnational payment information. This should focus on harmonising and promoting standards for tracing money flows in criminal investigations.
• Developing modern training programmes for police authorities and legal organisations to track, seize, and handle cryptocurrencies during an investigation.
   
• Call opening period: 27 June 2024 - 20 November 2024
• Budget: € 6 million
• Read more about this call on the European Commission's Funding & Tender portal 

Projects should contribute to one or more of the following objectives:

• Development of a mature technological solution for EU security policy priorities in the areas addressed by the Cluster 3 work programme.
• Easier access to the civil security market for small innovators.
• Better cooperation between public buyers and small supply market actors. This is needed for faster innovation adoption in response to short- to medium-term needs.
• Stronger partnerships between small and medium-sized EU security industry and technology actors. This is needed to ensure the sustainability of the EU's civil security innovation capacity and to reduce technological dependence on non-EU suppliers in critical security areas.
   
• Call opening period: 27 June 2024 - 20 November 2024
• Budget: € 6 million
• Read more about this call on the European Commission's Funding & Tender portal 

This European grant is for developing solutions that contribute to the development of CCAM (Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility) systems.

Specifically, projects should contribute to one or more of the following goals:

• New, centralised, reliable, cyber-secure and upgradable control systems for in-vehicle CCAM systems. Underlying these control systems is using co-designed hardware, software and (smart) data flows.
• Increased use of level 4 automation in road vehicles by expanding control systems' Operational Design Domains (ODDs) to more complex situations (urban traffic, bad weather conditions, et cetera) or using them on a greater scale.
• Safe operation of Connected and Automated Driving (CAD) functions, for example, for Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) and ODD transitions through system flexibility, experience-based decision-making and access to cloud intelligence.
• The transition from human-based control of vehicles to a more integrated, resource-efficient and reliable system for controlling CCAM systems.
• Improved collaboration between European car manufacturers and suppliers to design a standard cyber-secure electronic architecture with corresponding interfaces.
   
• Opening period call: 7 May 2024 - 5 September 2024
• Budget: € 12 million
• Read more about this call on the European Commission's Funding & Tender portal 

This grant is for projects that support the implementation of European cyber security laws and regulations and national cyber security strategies.

Projects should contribute to one or more of the following goals:

• Introduction, validation, testing and deployment of technology, tools and IT-related solutions, processes and ways of monitoring and managing cyber security incidents.
• Increasing authorities' capacity for market surveillance, notifications or national certifications as a task arising from the Cyber Resilience Act.
• Collaboration, communication, awareness, knowledge sharing and training, including the use of cybersecurity ranges, of public and private parties working on implementing the NIS2 regulation ((EU) 2022/2555).
• Collaboration between experienced and learning organisations from at least 2 Member States. The aim is to facilitate the deployment and application of technologies, tools, processes and ways for effective cooperation across borders to prevent, detect and respond to cybersecurity incidents.
• Measures to build robustness and resilience for cybersecurity. This enhances vendors' ability to systematically work with cybersecurity-relevant information or provide actionable data to CyberSecurity Incident Response Teams.
• Ensure that manufacturers improve the security of products with digital elements from the design and development stage throughout the lifecycle.
  Ensure a coherent cybersecurity framework that facilitates compliance for hardware and software producers.
• Increase the transparency of products’ security features with digital elements and ensure that businesses and consumers in all sectors can safely use products with digital elements.
• Support cybersecurity certification, including support to national authorities. This includes testing computer systems for vulnerabilities, acquiring certification test environments, sharing best practices and introducing innovative evaluation methods for specific ICT products or components.
   
• Opening period call: 4 July 2024 - 21 January 2025
• Budget: € 20 million
• Read more about this call on the European Commission's Funding & Tender portal. 

This grant aims to strengthen cybersecurity capabilities using new technologies. This includes incorporating and integrating implementations of new tools, systems and services for threat detection, incident response, malware protection, vulnerability management and data protection.

Projects should contribute to one or more of the following goals:

• Real-time Monitoring and Incident Response: rapid recognition of and response to security incidents through continuous network monitoring, alarm systems and automated response mechanisms.
• Malware Defence and Analysis: mitigate malware threats by analysing code behaviour, examining network traffic, and assessing file characteristics to make it more difficult for hackers to exploit vulnerabilities.
• Proactive Vulnerability Management: proactively investigate and address vulnerabilities in computer systems through automated vulnerability scans. The aim is to find potential threats before they can be exploited.
• Data Protection and Anomaly Detection: secure sensitive data by investigating access patterns and identifying abnormal behaviour to mitigate data breaches and protect critical information.
• Incident investigation to clarify the cause, scope and consequences of security incidents or data breaches.
• Data Utilisation with Privacy: supporting organisations to collect data for analysis and insights with techniques that ensure data security and respect privacy, such as anonymisation and de-identification.
   
• Opening period call: 4 July 2024 - 21 January 2025
• Budget: € 35 million
• Read more about this call on the European Commission's Funding & Tender portal. 

This grant is specifically for consortia that distribute part of the grant to third parties (Financial Support for Third Parties).

This grant aims to strengthen cybersecurity by supporting parties in their preparation for cyberincidents. It involves developing or offering services to large industrial plants and infrastructures, operators of essential services and providers of digital services. The grant is also meant to help governments test for potential vulnerabilities.

Preparedness actions should benefit various entities, including SMEs and start-ups, in sectors identified as critical infrastructure sectors in the NIS2 regulation ((EU) 2022/2555), such as, energy, transport, and banking.

Projects must contribute to one or more of the following activities:

• Development of scenarios for testing vulnerabilities in computer systems. These can be scenarios for networks, applications, virtualisation solutions, cloud solutions, industrial control systems and the Internet of Things.
• Support for testing by entities managing critical infrastructure to identify potential vulnerabilities.
• Support the introduction of digital solutions and infrastructure that enable the execution of testscenarios and conducting exercises. Consider cyber ranges or other testfacilities that mimic specific characteristics of critical sectors to conduct cyber exercises, especially in cross-border situations.
• Evaluate and test cybersecurity capabilities of member states (including the ability to prevent, detect and respond to incidents).
• Advisory services for improving infrastructure security and building and strengthening capabilities.
   
• Opening period call: 4 July 2024 - 21 January 2025
• Budget: € 35 million
• Read more about this call on the European Commission's Funding & Tender portal.

This grant aims to strengthen Security Operation Centres (SOCs) linked to national SOCs to achieve more robust cooperation between local, national and SOCs in other countries. Increased data sharing should help improve the ability to detect cyber threats.

Funded projects should also ensure greater involvement, including from the private sector, and better cooperation. This should contribute to a joint EU knowledge base on cyber threats and technological independence.

Projects should contribute to one or more of the following goals:

• Activities and technical frameworks that improve cooperation and interconnection between SOC platforms and national SOCs and stimulate connections between national SOCs and other SOCs at a national level.
• Support cooperation and coordination of SOC platforms, not only between different SOC platforms across borders but also between national SOCs and other SOCs.
• Strengthen links between the public sector and industry. In addition, encourage the mutually beneficial exchange of information, tools and data and the exchange of knowledge and training opportunities.
• Strengthen links between SOCs and industrial stakeholders in artificial intelligence and other enabling technologies, promoting adopting such technologies, including AI techniques.
• Engage stakeholders from the High-Performance Computing stakeholder community and practitioners of pioneering AI technologies in SOC activities, collaborations, services and developments.
   
• Opening period call: 4 July 2024 - 21 January 2025
• Budget: € 2 million
• Read more about this call on the European Commission's Funding & Tender portal. 

This grant aims to support new SOC platforms in other countries, and those already launched under the previous DIGITAL work programme (2021-2022).

The focus is on processes and tools to prevent, detect and analyse emerging cyberattacks. The focus is also on the acquisition and/or incorporation of common (automation) tools, processes and shared data infrastructures to manage and share operational cybersecurity information across the EU.

Projects should contribute to one or more of the following goals:

• Improve and sustain common situational awareness and capabilities in detection and Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI). SOC platforms support the development of better-performing data analysis, detection and response tools by combining more data, including new internal data retrieved by consortia members.
• Enable broader pooling of key data and CTI and the distribution of threat intelligence widely and to a large and diverse group of actors. Think of Cybersecurity Emergency Response Teams, Cyber Security Incident Response Teams, Information Sharing and Analysis Centres, and operators of critical infrastructures.
• New tools based on advanced AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Machine Learning (ML), data analytics and other key cybersecurity technologies.
• Underpinning these are research results, testing and validation in real-world conditions, combined with access to supercomputing facilities (e.g. to strengthen consistency and detection characteristics of platforms across borders).
• Provide key information without delay to networks and entities responsible for operational cooperation on cybersecurity and crisis management at the EU level.
   
• Opening period call: 4 July 2024 - 21 January 2025
• Budget: € 5 million
• Read more about this call on the European Commission's Funding & Tender portal. 
   

This grant is for designated national SOCs only.

This grant aims to form or strengthen national SOCs, particularly with state-of-the-art tools to monitor, understand, and proactively manage cyber incidents in close collaboration with key entities such as CSIRTs.

Where possible, SOCs leverage information and feeds from other SOCs to use aggregated data and analysis for early warnings to targeted critical infrastructures on a need-to-know basis.

Projects should contribute to one or more of the following goals:

• Increased capacity for new or existing national SOCs, such as equipment, tools and data inputs, and funding for data analysis and collaboration with SOC platforms in other countries.
• Using state-of-the-art technology, such as artificial intelligence and dynamic learning of the threat landscape and context. This also involves using shared cyber security intelligence and hardware to ensure secure information sharing and storage.
• Key element is translating research results from advanced AI/ML, data analysis, and other relevant cybersecurity tools into operational tools, and their further testing and validation.
• Knowledge transfer, such as training cybersecurity analysts. SOCs dealing with critical infrastructure play a key role and should benefit from existing knowledge and experience of national SOCs.
   
• Opening period call: 4 July 2024 - 21 January 2025
• Budget: € 5,8 million
• Read more about this call on the European Commission's Funding & Tender portal.