SMESEC

Context

Small and Medium size Enterprises (SMEs) are an important driver for innovation and growth in the EU. At the same time, SMEs also stand to gain the most from innovative technologies that promise convenient deployment and economical operation of ICT. Taking into account cyber-security, SMEs do not always understand all the risks and business consequences for the development of technologies without the adequate level of protection against cyber crime.

The European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) declares in the "Information Security and Privacy Standards for SMEs" study of 2016 that, despite rising concerns about information security risks, the level of SMEs information security and privacy standards adoption is relatively small .

Approach

The SMESEC consortium is proposing to develop a cost-effective suite of cyber-security tools. The suite supports SMEs in managing network information security risks and threats and identifying opportunities for implementing secure, innovative technologies for the digital market. As a benefit, the framework shall allow SMEs not only look at cyber-security as an obstacle but also as an opportunity for business.

Consortium

SMESEC is a project proposed by an international group of experts as a response to the cyber-security challenges of SMEs with a limited background on cyber-security and a restricted budget. The SMESEC suite will be developed in 36 months by a strong consortium of 12 partners from 7 countries. The consortium is led by ATOS, with many years of experience in project management and cyber-security, and involves large companies, SMEs, research centers, and universities. While supported by research centers and universities, SMESEC is an industry-oriented project, where the private companies will cover more than 73% of the total project costs.

Objectives

• High-quality cybersecurity solutions attractive to SMEs with a restricted budget
• Provide cybersecurity training and awareness for SMEs and all type of employees
• Test and validate our solution with four initial use cases and have an open call when the solution is more mature
• Ready to market solution