Romanian Digitalization Authority: Over 120 applications for EU grants in cybersecurity

CYSSDE, an EU-funded initiative that helps companies defend themselves against cyber threats, has closed its latest call for cybersecurity assessment services. The response was strong, with 121 completed applications from companies and consortia of companies with expertise, active in key industries across Europe. This shows a growing need for robust cyber defence measures and the willingness of organisations to take action.

The aim was to identify qualified experts and organisations across Europe who can test the security of companies and devices, with a focus on assessing critical infrastructure operators, equipment manufacturers in high-risk sectors, organisations providing essential services and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the EU. Through this initiative, CYSSDE will fund and support these organisations in identifying vulnerabilities in their digital systems before they are exploited by criminals.

Assessing APIs, Networks, Applications, and More

Applicants showed the greatest interest in penetration testing and application vulnerability assessments, closely followed by network and API testing. This may indicate a relatively lower interest in sectors such as aerospace, water, food, and manufacturing, although these areas also face significant cyber challenges. Overall, the wide range of applications highlights how cyber threats affect every aspect of daily life. While industries face different risks, all recognize that a serious cyberattack could disrupt their business, impact customers, or damage their reputation.

The strong response also reflects the shortage of cybersecurity experts. More and more companies are realizing that they cannot afford to ignore these risks and are looking to external support to improve their defenses.

CYSSDE has completed the evaluation of all applications and has started the contracting phase with the ten projects considered most promising. Each selected expert or consortium can receive up to €200,000 in funding. The projects were chosen based on their level of innovation, alignment with the objectives of the programme and their potential to improve the security of systems and products with digital elements relevant to NIS2. They also aim to strengthen European expertise and capacity in the field of cybersecurity.

This is only the second of three open calls for funding planned under CYSSDE. The next one will be launched in January 2026. In total, the programme will support at least twenty cybersecurity test projects, with a total budget of up to €4 million in grants.

This initiative supports wider European efforts, such as the Digital Europe Programme, and is designed to comply with and strengthen the requirements set out in the NIS2 Directive and the Cyber ​​Resilience Act. These European policies encourage organizations to take cyber risks seriously and act before they materialize.

NCC Romania is a beneficiary of the call dedicated to NCCs, CYSSDE 1st Open Call Involvement of NCCs, to promote funding initiatives carried out within calls 2 and 3 of the CYSSDE project for entities in Romania, in the field of cybersecurity.

This project was funded by the Digital Europe program of the European Union under Grant Agreement 101158471 and is supported by the European Cybersecurity Competence Center.