SAFEHORIZON Project Officially Launched: A New Era in Cybercrime Prevention

The SAFEHORIZON project has officially launched, bringing together a consortium of 13 international partners to tackle the growing challenge of cybercrime. Coordinated by the Athena Research Center in Greece, this three-year initiative runs from September 2024 to August 2027 and is co-funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Program with a budget of nearly €4 million. The kick-off meeting on September 30, 2024, in Athens saw over 30 representatives from law enforcement agencies, research centers, and businesses gather to align on the project’s goals and contributions. Discussions covered critical issues such as ethics, privacy, and data protection, alongside expectations from the European Commission.

SAFEHORIZON aims to address the rising threat of Crime-as-a-Service (CaaS) by integrating data from the clear web, deep web, dark web, and law enforcement sources with advanced machine learning tools. This approach will equip European LEAs, CERTs, and CSIRTs with actionable intelligence and a user-friendly toolkit, strengthening their capabilities in combatting organised cybercriminal activities. As part of the LEA Projects Cluster, spearheaded by Privanova, SAFEHORIZON also connects with the Interpol Cybercrime Knowledge Exchange Network, fostering vital information sharing.

Privanova leads Dissemination, Communication, and Exploitation in the SAFEHORIZON project, managing the Dissemination and Communication Plan (DCP) to ensure alignment with project goals and KPIs. It coordinates the SAFEHORIZON Community of Experts for stakeholder feedback and guides Clustering Management, fostering synergies between projects, building a coordinators’ network, and organising workshops. Additionally, Privanova focuses on maximising innovation, leveraging intellectual property, and developing strategies for the project’s commercial exploitation.