CYBERSPACE Project Kicks Off

CYBERSPACE Project Kick-Off Meeting

CYBERSPACE’s virtual kick-off meeting was conducted on 9th – 10th December 2021. The participants included Privanova, representatives of the European Commission and an international, multidisciplinary consortium of 11 partners (from across Europe) which includes LEAs (Law Enforcement Agency), SME, Research institutes and Industry player, all bringing their unique specialisation to the consortium in order to fight cybercrime.

The meeting marks the official start of this EU-funded project which will make it seamless for European agencies and relevant organisations to track, anticipate and prevent tackle cybercrime using state-of-the-art technologies unlike anything before.

About the CYBERSPACE Project

CYBERSPACE is an acronym for “Enhancing cybersecurity, improving cooperation and the reporting of cyber-attacks in the EU”. It is a three-year project funded by the European Union Internal Security Fund – Police programme. The project aims to provide policy makers, law enforcement agencies and the private sector with a more comprehensive understanding of cyberattacks and cybercrime in the EU. Insights will be used to develop investigative tools, improve information sharing, and better detection, response, and prevention of cybercrime. The €3.2 million project has partners from eight EU countries, covering a variety of sectors relating to cybersecurity.

The project will stimulate stakeholders to report cyberattacks to their LEAs and CERTs. CYBERSPACE will map to whom such attacks should be reported, and the actions taken in response. The project will enhance the capacity of LEAs and forensics institutes to investigate cybercrimes and cyberattacks. The consortium will aim to enhance the detection of hacks and attacks and to improve cooperation between LEAs and between LEAs and the private sector in accordance with the EU Cybersecurity Strategy. Further, Cyberspace will build on the results of the H2020 CC-DRIVER cybersecurity project to improve cooperation and information sharing among LEAs – for example, in the LEA Working Group and the cluster of EU-funded projects with LEA partners. Similar working groups, especially bringing together LEAs and businesses, will help build trust and information sharing.

Privanova’s role in the CYBERSPACE Project

Privanova is uniquely positioned to contribute to the CYBERSPACE project. Besides our participation in EU-funded projects of interest to the global law enforcement community such as CC-DRIVER and TRACE, Privanova is also a member of the INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Knowledge Exchange – a global operational network of LEAs we can use as a two-way communication channel between the project partners and its end-users.

In the CYBERSPACE project, Privanova will engage and collaborate with stakeholders such as the European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO), Information Security Forum (ISF), SME associations, LEAs and CERTs to increase the reporting of cybercrime. Together with our consortium partners, Privanova will conduct a dissemination campaign targeting businesses to report cybercrime and cyberattacks.  Our campaign will include quotes from leading figures in cybersecurity emphasising the importance of reporting cybercrimes, policy briefs and videos.

Another key activity Privanova will lead within the CYBERSPACE project concerns leveraging existing clusters and networks such as ECSO, EOS and EARTO, and the involvement of the consortium partners in numerous ongoing projects. Relying on our experience with Clustering in Horizon Europe and H2020, we will create a cluster of EU-funded cybercrime and cybersecurity projects.

Thanks to Privanova’s extensive network of high-ranking law enforcement officials and forensic experts, Privanova will also create and interact with the project’s Stakeholder Board, comprising about 20-30 stakeholders, carefully selected to represent the different stakeholder groups, especially including LEAs and judicial authorities.