European Commission calls for cyber security proposals

The European Commission is making €145.5 million available to help small and medium-sized enterprises and public bodies to boost their cybersecurity, with specific help for hospitals and healthcare providers.

It's launched two calls for proposals. The first is part of the Digital Europe Programme, with a budget of €55 million, €30 million of which will go to enhance the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers.

€15 million will go to post-quantum Public Key Infrastructures, meanwhile, with €10 million allocated to enhance the Network Connectivity Center (NCC) Networks.

The plan is to help organizations detect, monitor, and respond to cyber threats, particularly ransomware. The aim is to have identified the key ransomware strains targeting healthcare by the end of this year, and to set up a ransomware recovery subscription service by 2026.

"This will boost the resilience of the European healthcare system, especially in the current geopolitical context, aligning with the EU action plan on cybersecurity in hospitals and healthcare," said the Commission.

The fund will be used for pilot projects including national or regional hospital clusters, healthcare systems, professional associations, and cybersecurity service providers.

These could include, for example, the creation of security operation centers offering real-time monitoring, threat detection, and rapid incident response, as well as the use of cybersecurity tools including Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platforms, threat intelligence, and automated response capabilities.

The second call, forming part of the Horizon Europe Programme, has a budget of around €90.5 million. It will, said the Commission, support the use and development of generative AI for cybersecurity applications and new advanced tools and processes for operational cybersecurity, along with privacy-enhancing technologies and post-quantum cryptography.

Of this, €40 million will go to generative AI for cybersecurity applications, €23.55 million on new tools and processes for operational cybersecurity, and €11 on privacy enhancing technologies.

Security evaluations of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) primitives will get €4 million, with €6 million for the security of implementations of PQC algorithms and another €6 million for the integration of PQC) algorithms into high-level protocols.

Proposals for the first call can be submitted until 7 October here, with the second here, open until 12 November.

According to the Commission, in 2023 alone, EU countries reported 309 significant cybersecurity incidents targeting the healthcare sector -- more than any other critical sector. And the call for healthcare cybersecurity proposals follows an EU action plan launched earlier this year.

"Digital technologies and health data-driven solutions have opened unparalleled opportunities in healthcare. They enable precision medicine, real-time patient monitoring, and seamless communication between healthcare providers across borders," said Olivér Várhelyi, commissioner for health and animal Welfare.

"But digitalization is only as strong as the trust it inspires and resilient from cyberattacks. Patients must feel confident that their most sensitive information is secure. Healthcare professionals must have faith in the systems they use daily to save lives."