Laurea to join a European cyber-security project

As the use of the Internet is becoming increasingly widespread in societies and affects a larger proportion of the world's population, the threat of online crime is also growing. It has been estimated that the direct and indirect damage caused by cybercrime will amount to more than EUR 500 billion per year.

Laurea University of Applied Sciences is involved in the Cybercrime Law Enforcement Practitioners Network (CYCLOPES) project expected to launch in May 2021 with the aim to create a European cybercrime prevention network. In January, the five-year project received a positive funding decision from the EU funding programme Horizon 2020.

The CYCLOPES project is coordinated by the Polish Platform for Homeland Security. In addition, 20 partners from 15 other European countries are involved in the project.

The objective of the project is to create a Europe-wide network of security management authorities, industry, organisations, universities and research institutes. The network will help develop and support European capacity to combat cybercrime.

-    The European Union has funded numerous projects focusing on the prevention of cyber threats and crime, say Päivi Mattila, Director of Laurea's security research programme, and Artmir Galica, Project Manager of the CYCLOPES project at Laurea.
-    What's special about the project that is now being launched is that the project brings together different cyber security and crime prevention actors and strengthens the coordination of development needs. It is an attempt to further structure the fight against cybercrime among the Member States of the European Union.

In practice, the project will start by bringing together networks of cyber security and crime and identifying key development targets and challenges. The project will then examine key innovations that can respond to the identified challenges. This will be followed up by testing innovations and providing training for public authorities and other key actors in the fight against cybercrime in the CYCLOPES network, in order to make progress in introducing new innovations and skills in the Member States of the European Union.

-    Laurea's area of responsibility includes project communications and network building as well as research activities related to cybercrime prevention, say Artmir Galica and Päivi Mattila.
-    We are also responsible for the ethical competence of the project.

The CYCLOPES project was one of three security management sector projects funded by Horizon 2020 / Secure Societies where Laurea is involved. Laurea is coordinating the AI-ARC project and is involved as a partner in the NOTIONES project.

The CYCLOPES project extends the portfolio of Laurea's cyber security projects, as Laurea is also involved in the H2020-funded ECHO project and two Erasmus+ funded projects ECOLHE and DIG4LIFE.

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