Rapid response to cyber-attacks is one of the main interests of European Defence. It strongly affects stability in Europe and outside Europe and the wealth and safety of the society. Lithuanian-led CYBER4DE consortium brought together partners from 7 EU countries to develop a multifunctional cyber rapid response toolbox that will significantly increase EU-level cyber defence capabilities.
CYBER4DE is the first Lithuanian-coordinated project funded by the European Defense Industry Development Program (EDIDP). The Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense is directly responsible for managing the project, and the Baltic Institute of Advanced Technology (BPTI) is the coordinator of the consortium of industrial companies. Another Lithuanian company, NRD Cyber Security, is also participating in the consortium as the project’s technical coordinator.
CYBER4DE stems from the needs of Cyber Rapid Response Teams (CRRTs) under the PESCO framework. The project aims to enhance the processes and practices of CRRTs for a faster uptake of the new tools and increased effectiveness in the operating domain in different complex national and international scenarios. The toolbox will be available for use by other military and civilian institutions to manage cyber incidents more efficiently as well.
The CYBER4DE toolbox concept is based on four modules: Workplace, Sensors, Back-office, and Cloud services. They provide specific functionality to manage cyber incidents (detect, investigate, and remedy hostile activities) and are integrated into a highly sophisticated, flexible, and scalable solution that is easily configurable and deployable to meet the specifics of a wide range of deployed cyber crisis operations. To ensure a high modularity and flexibility level, the unified core software and hardware platform are planned together with built-in management, monitoring and security components. State-of-the-art and open technologies, including enhancements provided by Artificial Intelligence solutions, will ensure the toolbox remains effective and upgradable over the years.
The development of the CYBER4DE toolbox started with an in-depth analysis of the needs and limitations faced by CRRTs. Requirements and specifications derived from the study results and consolidated among the participating Member States will pave the way to create flexible and standardized tools, thus enabling international cooperation and integration with already existing systems. At present, the CYBER4DE project is supported by the Ministries of Defence of Lithuania, Estonia, France, Poland, and Romania.
The multifunctional cyber toolbox for defence is scheduled to be fully completed by mid-2024, after trials at simulation exercises with the EU CRRTs.
The overall grant value, EUR 9,3 million, puts CYBER4DE among five largest projects that applied fro and received financing as a result of 2020 EDIDP call. The BPTI-led consortium combines 10 large enterprises, mid-caps, and SMEs from 7 EU member states: Lithuania (Baltic Institute of Advanced Technology (coordinator), NRD Cyber Security), Croatia (Infigo IS, Poslovna Inteligencija), Estonia (Talgen), France (Airbus Cybersecurity SAS, Thales Six GTS), Italy (Leonardo), Poland (Asseco Poland), and Romania (METRA).
For more information please visit www.cyber4de.eu
