Preparedness support and mutual assistance
Summary
Digital Europe Programme is the first EU programme that aims to accelerate the recovery and drive the digital transformation of Europe.
Worth €7.6 billion (in current prices), the Programme is a part of the next long-term EU budget, (the Multiannual Financial Framework), and it covers 2021 to 2027. It will provide funding for projects in five crucial areas: supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills, and ensuring the wide use of digital technologies across the economy and society.
The Programme is fine-tuned to fill the gap between the research of digital technologies and their deployment, and to bring the results of research to the market – for the benefit of Europe’s citizens and businesses, and in particular SMEs. Investments under the Digital Europe programme supports the Union’s twin objectives of a green transition and digital transformation and strengthens the Union’s resilience and strategic autonomy.
Programme Name
Programme Description
Digital Europe Programme is the first EU programme that aims to accelerate the recovery and drive the digital transformation of Europe.
Worth €7.6 billion (in current prices), the Programme is a part of the next long-term EU budget, (the Multiannual Financial Framework), and it covers 2021 to 2027. It will provide funding for projects in five crucial areas: supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills, and ensuring the wide use of digital technologies across the economy and society.
The Programme is fine-tuned to fill the gap between the research of digital technologies and their deployment, and to bring the results of research to the market – for the benefit of Europe’s citizens and businesses, and in particular SMEs. Investments under the Digital Europe programme supports the Union’s twin objectives of a green transition and digital transformation and strengthens the Union’s resilience and strategic autonomy.
Call
Detailed Call Description
The mechanism should also support mutual assistance between Member States for both preparedness and incident response actions.
The provision of preparedness support services (ex-ante) shall include activities listed below:
Support for testing of essential entities operating critical infrastructure for potential vulnerabilities.
- Development of penetration testing scenarios for MS cybersecurity infrastructure (including infrastructure of Operators of Essential Services, Digital Service Providers and Governmental entities). The proposed scenarios should cover Networks, Applications, Virtualization solutions, Cloud solutions, Industrial Control systems, and IoT.
- Support for conducting testing of essential entities operating critical infrastructure for potential vulnerabilities.
- Support the deployment of digital tools and infrastructures supporting the execution of testing scenarios and for conducting exercises such as the development of standardised cyber-ranges or other testing facilities, able to mimic features of critical sectors (e.g., energy sector, transport sector etc.) to facilitate the execution of cyber-exercises, in particular within cross-border scenarios where relevant.
- Evaluation and/or testing of MS cybersecurity capabilities (including capabilities to prevent, detect and respond to incidents).
- Consulting services, providing recommendations on how to improve infrastructure security and capabilities.
Support for threat assessment and risk assessment.
- Threat Assessment process implementation and life cycle.
- Customised risk scenarios analysis.
Risk monitoring service.
- Specific continuous risk monitoring such as attack surface monitoring, risk monitoring of assets and vulnerabilities.
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
100%
Maximum grant amount per project: €3 000 000 – €7 000 000
Eligibility For Participation Notes
In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must be legal entities (public or private bodies), established in one of the EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories) or EEA countries (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein).
Targeted stakeholders This topic targets in particular national cybersecurity authorities, national cybersecurity competence centres, National Coordination Centres (as defined in Regulation (EU) 2021/887), private entities and any other relevant stakeholders with the capacity to aggregate demand from end beneficiaries, to launch tenders for procurement in the cybersecurity market space and to run downstream calls for allocating Financial Support to Third Parties.
Multi-country consortia composition is not mandatory for this topic but will positively contribute to the impact of the action.
Programme Category
EU Competitive ProgrammesTotal Budget
€35 000 000Thematic Categories
- Information Technology
- Justice - Security
- New Entrepreneurship
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
Eligibility for Participation
- Central Government
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- Semi-governmental organisations
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
- State-owned Enterprises
Call Opening Date
25/05/2023Call Closing Date
26/09/2023National Contact Point(s)
Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy
Directorate of Research and Innovation
Eleana Gabriel
Telephone: +357 22 691918
Email: egabriel@dmrid.gov.cy