PROTECTIVE embarks on the second phase of its cyberdefense-platform trials

The H2020 project PROTECTIVE for proactive risk management through enhanced cyber situational awareness has just set out on the second phase of the operational trials of its cyberdefense platform, to check everything is working properly. Its official unveiling will come on 17 September in Kraków during the cybercrime research symposium eCrimeEU 2018, organized each year by APWG (Anti Phishing World Group), an association that pools the various cybercrime-combatting stakeholders.

In this new stage the three National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) taking part in the project - CESNET (Czech Republic), PSNC (Poland) and RoEduNet (Romania) – are now ready to share cybersecurity information. This milestone marks further headway in the project’s overall objective, namely improving awareness of cyberattack risks, setting up a cybersecurity-data and information processing and collating system and sharing information between the cybersecurity teams of the various organizations taking part in the project.

To this end GMV is now working on definition and development of alert-correlation models and threat-intelligence sharing modules. It is also responsible for integration and testing of PROTECTIVE’s various modules. In particular GMV is contributing its expertise and knowledge of correlation modules and intelligent sharing of security threats.

Cybersecurity attacks pose one of the biggest threats to today’s society. Governments and industry alike are making a huge effort to thwart these attacks, which are usually international in scope. PROTECTIVE is a three-year collaborative project under the EU’s umbrella Horizon 2020 research and innovation framework program, involving the participation of three national research and education networks, three academic institutions and four commercial partners from eight countries, GMV among them.

Detail of the operational trials

The aim of the current operational trials is to demonstrate the viability of the PROTECTIVE cyberdefense platform. Attention focuses on installation of the whole ensemble within an organization in particular, its connection to data sources and subsequent interconnection to other nodes also present in the whole installation ("PROTECTIVE nodes”) to facilitate automatic exchange of security information.

This stage involves processing of basic data, concentrating on assessment of statistical data, display and, above all, evaluation of their usefulness in the context of an organization’s security process. Subsequent stages will move on to improvements in the most complex functions such as: correlation of multiple-source security events; dynamic risk assessment in relation to a particular service or network and prioritization of alerts to ensure a quicker reaction to cyberthreats.

Under the European Union program H2020-EU.3.7., which aims to achieve secure societies and seeks to protect the freedom and security of Europe and its citizens, GMV is sharing its technology expertise with three national research and education networks (NRENs), three academic institutions and four commercial partners from eight countries: SYNYO GmbH (Austria); Instytut Chemmi Bioorganicznej Polskiej Akademii Nauk (Poland); Clean Communications Limited (Ireland); Technische Universität Darmstadt (Germany); Agentia de Administrare a Retelei Nationale de Informatica Pentru Educatie si Cercetare (Romania); CESNET zájmové sdružení právnických osob (Czech Republic); ITTI Sp. zoo (Poland); The Chancellor, Master and Scholars of The University of Oxford (UK).

GMV has now been investing for years in the development of technology to protect its clients’ critical infrastructure and now boasts tried-and-tested technology to combat the new cyberthreats looming over the latest forms of production.

To find out more:: https://protective-h2020.eu/