SPARTA is a project aimed at creating a European network of centres of excellence in cyber security, for the collaboration, development and sharing of solutions for cyber-crime prevention and security improvement. It also pursues the goal of building transformative capabilities on the national and European levels by setting up a continent-wide network for the development of information security skills.
This ambitious participatory project is being conducted by a consortium led by the French Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) and consisting of 44 partners, including not only Leonardo, but also other Italian organisations such as CINI (Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per l'Informatica, the National Interuniversity Consortium for Information Technology), CNIT (Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Telecomunicazioni, the National Interuniversity Consortium for Telecommunications), CNR (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, the National Research Council) and ISCOM (Istituto superiore delle comunicazioni e delle tecnologie dell'informazione, Italy’s advanced communications and information technology institute).
Leonardo played a key role in the T-Shark and CAPE programmes under this broad-reaching project.
T- Shark, for cyber security awareness
In the T-Shark programme for cyber security awareness, a prototype Virtual Control Room has been developed with a virtual interface permitting operators to manage the information security of critical infrastructure remotely.
The prototype made use of the tools available at the Security Operations Centre (SOC) in Chieti, such as the Threat Intelligence System and Decision Support System platforms.
The former improves perception and comprehension of information technology risks through analysis and correlation of data from a variety of different sources, while the latter permits assessment of the effects of various different actions that may be taken to combat threats, and provides operators with easily accessible information on the basis of which to make decisions.
CAPE, for assessment of compliance with certification standards
Under the programme known as CAPE (Continuous Assessment in Polymorphous Environments), Leonardo has defined cyber security criteria for the development of products and systems on the basis of certification standards such as Protection Profiles.
But the SPARTA project is far from over! New challenges and new goals await, from autonomous security for self-protecting systems to so-called trustworthy software - software that is safe, dependable, available and resilient - and from Quantum Information Technology to 5G Security and Next-Generation Computing Architecture.
For more information: cyberandsecurity@leonardo.com
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