GEIGER: Providing new tool for small businesses to fight cyberattacks

GEIGER will offer an easy and affordable cybersecurity solution that allows small businesses to become aware of their biggest cyber risks and offers intuitive guidance for eliminating them. GEIGER differs from other cybersecurity solutions. It focuses on motivating the owner of the small business to get protected, offers real human help with people educated and certified in how to protect a small business, and swiftly adapts to changes in the applicable cyber threats.  - Prof. Dr Samuel Fricker, FHNW, GEIGER Project Lead

GEIGER makes cybersecurity more approachable to micro and small enterprises (MSEs) without expertise in digital security issues. In comparison to threat communication by CSIRTs and CERTs, GEIGER offers sensors to the MSE that allow a high degree of personalisation and, consequently, recommendations that are easier to understand and apply. Hence, each MSE is informed about what really matters for them and gets notified of new or changing threats. The open GEIGER framework is compatible with existing tools and service offerings and allows the respective providers to be recommended when their value proposition becomes applicable for an MSE.

GEIGER’s Innovative solution: supporting the future Horizon Europe and Digital Europe

One of the important aims of the GEIGER platform is to maximise innovation potential. Throughout the whole project, an ecosystem is being bootstrapped. It consists of MSEs' end-users and their relevant communities and networks, cybersecurity and data protection tool providers, educators and certifiers offering the Digital Security Defenders education, and CSIRTs and CERTs taking responsibility for the MSEs. The GEIGER platform will be an open information sharing and analysis platform, allowing these third-parties to interoperate and benefit from being a member in the rich and healthy GEIGER ecosystem.

GEIGER allows MSEs to become aware and stay aware of cyber and data protection threats. It applies the concept of the well-known Geiger Indicator for detecting atomic radiation to cybersecurity: a quick assessment of the MSEs' digital security level. GEIGER also helps small business owners to overcome the emotional "coping barrier". The project will develop a standardised, low-threshold learning programme for "Digital Security Defenders". As trusted advisors or employees, Security Defenders will pass their knowledge on to MSEs, and offer help in assessing and improving their cybersecurity and data protection tools and practices, using the GEIGER Toolbox.

Read more details on the GEIGER dedicated page and find out more about the latest updates, project results and relevant solutions for SMEs and MEs.