Cybersecure tools, technologies and services relying on AI (Digital Europe programme)

Official call identifier: DIGITAL-ECCC-2027-DEPLOY-CYBER-11-CYBERAI

Objective of the call

The call aims to strengthen the cybersecurity capabilities of national and competent authorities, National and Cross-Border Cyber Hubs, CSIRTs, public bodies, private entities covered by the NIS2 Directive, National Coordination Centres (NCCs), and other relevant stakeholders through the development and deployment of AI-based cybersecurity technologies, including generative AI.

The call seeks to increase the capacity of these organisations to analyse, detect, prevent and respond to cyber threats and incidents and to produce high-quality cyber threat intelligence (CTI). It also aims to ensure that advanced AI solutions used for cybersecurity are themselves secure, robust, trustworthy and compliant with EU legislation.

Scope of activities

Projects should develop and deploy cybersecurity systems, tools and services based on AI technologies, including GenAI. Proposed solutions should address areas such as threat and vulnerability detection, threat mitigation, incident recovery through self-healing, data analysis, data sharing and automation of cybersecurity processes. AI solutions developed or deployed under the call must themselves be cybersecure and comply with applicable IPR and GDPR requirements.

Activities should include at least one of the following:

• Advanced threat and anomaly detection: Continuous detection of patterns and anomalies that may indicate emerging threats, including identification of new attack vectors and advanced detection in evolving threat environments. Solutions may address both ICT and Operational Technology (OT) infrastructures using open technologies.
• Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI): Creation of CTI based on novel threat-detection capabilities, including AI-supported creation, analysis and processing of threat intelligence.
• Faster incident response: Real-time monitoring of networks to identify cybersecurity incidents, generate alerts and enable or trigger automated responses.

Projects are expected to contribute to the deployment of AI-powered technologies for Cyber Hubs, CSIRTs, NCSCs, NIS SPOCs and other relevant stakeholders; make validated AI-based cybersecurity tools available to these organisations; strengthen information sharing and collaboration; support European CTI feeds or services; deploy secure AI solutions for NIS sectors; mitigate risks associated with malicious use of AI; and contribute to standardisation and certification of cybersecure and trustworthy AI technologies.

Eligible applicants

• Innovative SMEs, startups and enterprises aiming to scale and strengthen competitiveness
• Public-sector organisations driving transformation and societal impact
• Research and academic institutions commercialising knowledge
• Non-profit organisations delivering purpose-driven innovation
• Organisations based in EU Member States, EFTA/EEA countries, or Associated Countries as defined in the Horizon Europe General Annexes
• Consortia must include at least the minimum number of independent legal entities from different eligible countries, as specified in the call conditions

Relevant participants for this topic include technology providers, operators of Cyber Hubs, research and academic organisations, cybersecurity organisations, public-sector bodies, NIS2 entities, private-sector organisations and other stakeholders involved in deploying cybersecure AI solutions. The call is subject to the security restrictions under Article 12(5) of the Digital Europe Programme Regulation.

Specific consortium we are looking for:

• AI and cybersecurity technology providers capable of developing and deploying secure AI-powered cybersecurity tools, including GenAI solutions
• Cyber Hubs, CSIRTs, NCSCs, NIS SPOCs or other cybersecurity operational organisations able to deploy and validate the proposed solutions in operational environments
• NIS2-sector organisations and other relevant end users providing concrete cybersecurity use cases and deployment environments
• Cyber Threat Intelligence specialists with expertise in threat detection, CTI generation, analysis, processing and information sharing
• Research and academic partners providing expertise in AI/ML, cybersecurity, trustworthy AI and advanced threat-detection technologies
• Public authorities or competent cybersecurity bodies contributing operational requirements and supporting uptake of the developed solutions
• Standardisation, certification and regulatory expertise supporting trustworthy, cybersecure AI and compliance with relevant EU requirements

Due to the security restrictions under Article 12(5) of the Digital Europe Programme Regulation, participating entities must not be directly or indirectly controlled from a country outside the eligible countries. These restrictions apply to beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, subcontractors and recipients of financial support to third parties. Project activities must also take place in eligible countries.

Eligible costs

Eligible costs may include:

• Personnel costs
• Subcontracting costs
• Travel and subsistence
• Equipment costs based on depreciation
• Other goods, works and services
• Financial Support to Third Parties
• Internally invoiced goods and services
• Indirect costs calculated at a 7% flat rate of eligible direct costs

• For Financial Support to Third Parties, the maximum amount is €100,000 per third party.

Funding conditions

Type of action: 
DIGITAL JU Simple Grants

Funding rate: 
50% funding rate

EU indicative budget: 
Around EUR 15,000,000 

Expected EU contribution: 
€3–5 million per project

Project duration: 
Typically 36 months 

Deadline for submission

14 January 2027