Closed

Enhancing tools and capabilities to fight advanced forms of cyber threats and cyber-dependent crimes

HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions

Basic Information

Identifier
HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-06
Programme
Fighting Crime and Terrorism 2023
Programme Period
2021 - 2027
Status
Closed (31094503)
Opening Date
June 28, 2023
Deadline
November 22, 2023
Deadline Model
single-stage
Budget
€8,000,000
Min Grant Amount
€4,000,000
Max Grant Amount
€4,000,000
Expected Number of Grants
2
Keywords
HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-06HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01CryptocurrenciesCybercrimeCybercrime prosecution and law enforcementCybersecurityEducation and training of police authoritiesFight against crime and terrorismInvestigations of computer crime (cybercrime) and security violationsPolice authorities

Description

Expected Outcome:

Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following outcomes:

  • Development of modular toolbox for Police Authorities, facilitating gathering and processing of data relevant for cybercrime and cyber - enabled crime investigations;
  • Detection of crypto-jacking, compromised registration forms, malware attacks and other cybercrimes perpetrated using cryptocurrencies;
  • Development of training curricula, for Police Authorities, prosecutors, as well as judicial actors on major contemporary cybercriminal activities;
  • Recommendations on public cybercrime awareness actions contributing to early detection and prevention;
  • Identification of best practices of international law enforcement and judicial cooperation networks; and­
  • Development of multi-stakeholders strategies, including novel investigation schemes and information sharing mechanisms.
Scope:

While cyber-attacks, notably ransomware and distributed denials or services, are getting more sophisticated, law enforcement officers need to develop strategies to gain a comprehensive knowledge of the numerous elements contributing to the attack (Virtual Private Networks - VPNs, Bulletproof Hosting – BPH, Remote Access Trojans – RATs, botnets, Dark Web platforms, crypto-ransomware, Criminal Phone Banks, Pseudonyms, Advanced Persistent Threat groups – APTs, Internet infrastructure abuse (e.g. DNS), etc.). Having in mind that these are offered today in a form of Crime-as-a-service for anyone willing to pay, there is growing number of cases where authorities have to launch and conduct advanced inquiries. Investigators need timely access to relevant data and expertise of a different nature and belonging to different categories of stakeholders (e.g. other Police Authorities or Internet service providers). As geographical boundaries become irrelevant in the commission of crime, criminal investigations have to become cooperative, joint actions. It does not seem feasible for a comprehensive investigation of contemporary organised crime to be conducted by a single investigator or even a single force. This technical and organisational complexity together with the cross-border nature of cyberattacks requires cutting-edge investigative approaches, gathering a large range of expertise as well as trusted information sharing mechanisms across communities (including secured platforms). In addition, it is necessary to enhance cybercrime intelligence picture notably by enhancing reporting mechanism of cyber-dependent criminal activities. Development of multi-stakeholders strategies, including novel investigation schemes and information sharing mechanisms, is necessary in order to enhance prevention and deterrence of these forms of cyber and cyber-dependent crime. Project should also investigate the legal background and identify any related shortcomings so lawful access and processing of subject data has a valid legal foundation.

Coordination among the successful proposals from this topic as well as with the successful proposal under HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-05: Crime as a service should be envisaged in order to avoid duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact.

Destination & Scope

Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impact of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2021-2024: “Crime and terrorism are more effectively tackled, while respecting fundamental rights, […] thanks to more powerful prevention, preparedness and response, a better understanding of related human, societal and technological aspects, and the development of cutting-edge capabilities for police authorities […] including measures against cybercrime.”

More specifically, proposals should contribute to the achievement of one or more of the following impacts:

  • Modern information analysis for Police Authorities, allowing them to efficiently fight criminals and terrorists who use novel technologies;
  • Improved forensics and lawful evidence collection, increasing the capabilities to apprehend criminals and terrorists and bring them to the court;
  • Enhanced prevention, detection and deterrence of societal issues related to various forms of crime, including cybercrime, and terrorism, such as violent radicalisation, domestic and sexual violence, or juvenile offenders;
  • Increased security of citizens against terrorism, including in public spaces (while preserving their quality and openness);
  • Improved intelligence picture and enhanced prevention, detection and deterrence of various forms of organised crime;
  • More secure cyberspace for citizens, especially children, through a robust prevention, detection, and protection from cybercriminal activities.

This Destination will also promote, whenever appropriate and applicable, the proposals with:

  • the involvement of the Police Authorities in their core,
  • a clear strategy on how they will adapt to the fast-evolving environment in the area of fight against crime and terrorism (evolution of related technologies, evolution of criminal modi operandi and business models related to these technologies, etc.),
  • a focus on tools that are modular and can be easily plugged into another platform, and not on a platform (in order to avoid platform multiplication),
  • tools that are developed and validated against practitioners’ needs and requirements,
  • a robust plan on how they will build on the relevant predecessor projects,
  • the (active) involvement of citizens, voluntary organisations and communities,
  • education and training aspects, especially for Police Authorities and other relevant practitioners, as well as information sharing and awareness raising of the citizens,
  • a clear strategy on the uptake of the outcomes, defined in consultation with the involved stakeholders,
  • a well-developed plan both on how research data for training and testing will be obtained, in order to reach the requested Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), and on how the specific TRL will be measured.

Where possible and relevant, synergy-building and clustering initiatives with successful proposals in the same area should be considered, including the organisation of international conferences in close coordination with the Community for European Research and Innovation for Security (CERIS) activities and/or other international events.

Eligibility & Conditions

General conditions

General conditions

1. Admissibility conditions: described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes

Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System

2. Eligible countries: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes

A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

The following additional eligibility criteria apply:

This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3 Police Authorities[[In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention, detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.]] from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the table “Information about security practitionerss” in the application form with all the requested information, following the template provided in the submission IT tool.

3. Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes

  • Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes

  • Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual

  • Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes

 

Specific conditions

7. Specific conditions: described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]

 

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Latest Updates

Last Changed: November 29, 2023

A total of 52 proposals have been submitted in response to this call. The number of proposals for each topic is shown below including the indicative budget of the topics for 2023:

- HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-01: 6 proposal (indicative budget: 7 M€)

- HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-02: 6 proposals (indicative budget: 9 M€)

- HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-03: 14 proposals (indicative budget: 4 M€)

- HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-04: 11 proposals (indicative budget: 4 M€)

- HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-05: 6 proposals (indicative budget: 4 M€)

- HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-06: 9 proposals (indicative budget: 8 M€)

The evaluation of the proposals will start by mid-December and will be closed by mid-February 2024. Applicants will be informed on the outcome of the evaluations in mid-April 2024.

 
Last Changed: June 29, 2023
The submission session is now available for: HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-02(HORIZON-IA), HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-06(HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-04(HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-01(HORIZON-IA), HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-03(HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-05(HORIZON-RIA)
Last Changed: April 27, 2023

We kindly inform you that a CORRIGENDUM has been published in the updates section of topic HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01-05.

Enhancing tools and capabilities to fight advanced forms of cyber threats and cyber-dependent crimes | Grantalist