Project title: “Joint Cyber Workforce Development Initiative to Enable The European Industry to Overcome the Shortage of Cybersecurity Professionals”
Project acronym: ENCRYPT 4.0
Reference number: 2020-1-RO01-KA202-079983
Project duration: 24 months (01/11/2020 – 31/10/2022)
Project website: https://encrypt40.eu/
Programme: Key Action 2 Cooperation for innovation and exchange of good practices in the field of VET within Erasmus + programme
Project summary:
In order to stay competitive and generate sustainable growth, European manufacturing SMEs need to keep up with Industry 4.0, which contributes to the merge of the physical and digital systems. The heavy reliance on computer systems, however, poses numerous challenges for the companies and Industry 4.0 in general.
In recent years, one of the most pressing problems of the digital world is cybersecurity and data privacy protection. SMEs’ defence capacity is typically weaker compared to large enterprises and figures suggest that only 14% of the affected SMEs can recover on their own. What is more, „60% of SMEs which undergo a cyber-attack lose their business within 6 months” (National Cyber Security Alliance) and “Manufacturers are much more prone to threats to their security because of connectivity in IT and OT systems through Industry 4.0 digitalization,” (2017 Verizon data breach report).
At the same time, SMEs manufacturing executives lack cybersecurity managing tools to assess their cyber risks and make sound decisions during a security incident. In addition, most manufacturing companies across Europe do not have a cyber team due to lack of talent. Responding to these challenges, ENISA stated that “to address the lack of IoT and Industry 4.0 security talent, it is essential to cultivate such knowledge both within and across organisational boundaries. Persons in charge of security within Industry 4.0 organizations should invest in state-of-the-art dedicated cybersecurity trainings that cover all necessary aspects specific to IT/OT convergence and Smart manufacturing. Lastly, trainings and courses at schools and universities (considering localisation to reach a wider audience) will further promote a better understanding of Industry 4.0 security among younger generations and thus in the long-term will contribute to raising awareness.”
Target groups:
The project is aimed at addressing the needs of the following target groups:
- Executives and head of departments in manufacturing SMEs;
- Employees and/or cybersecurity professionals from manufacturing SMEs transitioning to Industry 4.0;
- Vocational students with technical profiles;
- VET trainers/consultants in the field of cybersecurity.
Aims & Objectives
The Encrypt 4.0 main aim is to strengthen the capacity of manufacturing SMEs to ensure security of their data in the Industry 4.0 context and to contribute to tackling the cyber security workforce shortage via creating a comprehensive training package.
The specific objectives of the project are:
- Enabling manufacturing SMEs management to adopt a proactive approach towards cybersecurity by supporting them in the process of analysing, identifying and tackling the cyber risks and threats applicable to their organisations
- Promoting interactive project-based learning with regards to boosting cyber-security skills and competences of SMEs’ employees or/and cybersecurity professionals;
- Strengthening peer-to-peer dialogue in the field of cyber security and give free access to critical analyses of lessons learned and cyber defence roadmaps
Intellectual outputs & Results
To fulfil this aim, within the project lifetime the following intellectual outputs will be developed:
- 01: Encrypt 4.0 Cyber Risk Audit Matrix (CRAM)
- O2: Encrypt 4.0 Cyber security training lab
- O3: Encrypt 4.0 Documental battery on cyber attacks
Note: all of the aforementioned outputs will be available in: EN || RO || BG|| PT|| EL|| DE || ES ||
Project consortium:
The consortium that will develop the ENCRYPT 4.0 intellectual products consists of 6 partners from 6 EU countries with complementary background and experience, as follows:
- “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology of Târgu Mureș (UMFST), Romania, Website: umftgm.ro
- Avantalia, Spain, Website: avantalia.net
- FH Joanneum University of Applied Science, Austria, Website: fh-joanneum.at
- Institute for Technology and Quality, Portugal, Website: isq.pt
- PCX Computers & Information Systems Ltd., Cyprus, Website: pcxmanagement.eu
- European Center for Quality Ltd., Bulgaria, Website: ecq-bg.com
