Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) funding programme for the period 2021 – 2027, which targets the sectors of research and innovation. The programme’s budget is around € 95.5 billion, of which € 5.4 billion is from NextGenerationEU to stimulate recovery and strengthen the EU’s resilience in the future, and € 4.5 billion is additional aid.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
The use of Artificial intelligence is becoming indispensable with applications where massive data is involved. Understanding all implications for cybersecurity requires deeper analysis and further research and innovation.
Generative AI presents both opportunities and challenges in the field of cybersecurity. This topic supports the research on new opportunities brought by Generative AI for Cybersecurity applications, to develop, train and test AI models to scale up detection of threats and vulnerabilities, enhance response time, cope with the large quantities of data involved, and automate process and decision-making support; for example by generating reports from threat intelligence data, suggesting and writing detection rules, threat hunts, and queries for the Security information and event management (SIEM), creating management, audit and compliance reports and reverse engineering malware.
Detailed Call Description
Proposals addressing expected outcome a)
(a) (i) Advanced threat and anomaly detection and analysis: Current cybersecurity tools may struggle to keep pace with the evolving tactics of cyber attackers. Developing, training and testing of Generative AI models can be used to analyse large volumes of data and accurately identify anomalies and deviations from normal patterns of behaviour, enabling more effective threat detection, analysis and response.
Tools should also support cybersecurity professionals as they may struggle to detect and respond to threats posed by generative AI, particularly as these systems become more sophisticated and difficult to distinguish from genuine human activity.
(a) (ii) Adaptive security measures: Cybersecurity tools often rely on static rules and signatures to detect threats, making them less effective against new and evolving attack methods. In addition, many cybersecurity tools still rely on manual intervention for threat response, which can be time-consuming and ineffective. Generative AI, through development, training, finetuning and testing of Generative AI models can support these tools to adapt and respond to emerging threats in real-time, improving overall security posture.
(a) (iii) Enhanced authentication and access control: The use of AI technologies could improve resilience of authentication and access control systems to unauthorized access and credential theft, making it more difficult for unauthorized users to gain access to sensitive information or systems.
Proposals addressing expected outcome b)
(b) (i) Development of tools powered by Generative AI that analyse and facilitate the Application of the national and EU regulation in digital systems, in particular the Artificial Intelligence Act, the Directive on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union (NIS2) and the Cyber Resilience Act.
(b) (ii) Adaptation to a dynamic environment. Companies, public sector and organisations face an ever-changing environment which makes keeping up with compliance towards cybersecurity rules challenging. On one hand there’s a variety of rules applicable at sectorial, national or European level to be considered. On the other, change management and updates in ICT systems in organisations is frequent. Addressing both facets with tools powered with Generative AI brings the potential for a compliance continuum within organisations otherwise limited in time when driven by human intervention only.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
100%
Expected EU contribution per project: Between €12.00 and €14.00 million.
Thematic Categories
- Information and Communication Technologies
- Information Technology
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
Eligibility for Participation
- Educational Institutions
- Legal Entities
- Local Authorities
- NGOs
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- Semi-governmental organisations
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security, participation in this topic is limited to legal entities established in Member States and Associated Countries.
In order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, shall not participate in the action.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre Cyprus (NCC-CY)
1 Andrea Chaliou, 1075 Engomi, Nicosia,
Telephone: 1447
Fax: +357 22693070
Email: info@ncc.cy
Website: https://ncc.cy/en/
EU Contact Point
ECCC Applicants Direct Contact Centre: applicants@eccc.europa.eu