The FORESIGHT project concluded after 42 months of research and development activities aimed at designing and implementing a state-of-the-art platform that provides an end-to-end integrated training solution in the cybersecurity domain. As a result, the deployed FORESIGHT platform was validated through three pilots in the aviation, maritime and power grid sectors, demonstrating diverse technical and functional capabilities.

After 42 months, the H2020-funded research project FORESIGHT: Advanced cyber-security simulation platform for preparedness training in Aviation, Naval and Power-grid environments has been finalised. Coordinated by KEMEA in collaboration with consortium partners European Dynamics, Information Technology Institute, Cybercrime Research Institute, inCITES Consulting, Sheffield Hallam University, University of Peloponnese, MINDS & SPARKS, The University Court of the University of Abertay Dundee, AIRBUS Cybersecurity, Open University of Cyprus, Ecole Navale, CybExer Technologies, Athens International Airport, THALES, Darzhavna Agentsiya Elektronno Upravlenie, Institut Po Otbrana, Innovative Energy and Information Technologies, Elektroenergien Sistemen Operator, Cez Distribution Bulgaria, University of Strathclyde and University of Portsmouth, have successfully achieved innovative technical outputs along with impressive dissemination and communication results.

Overall impact on the cybersecurity training

FORESIGHT developed a sustainable model for addressing both end user training needs and existing gaps in training for responding to cyberattack incidents. By providing a multitude of training modules which combine theoretical knowledge with practical hands-on experience, FORESIGHT ensures that the trainees obtain the required skillset and theoretical tools to address different cyberthreats. As a result, FORESIGHT facilitates a holistic training approach which provides a novel learning environment and experience on one hand, and ensures that the certified trainees are capable of dealing with a multitude of cyberthreats, on the other.

Customer needs and new markets

Although the end goal of FORESIGHT project was to increase the dynamics of training and awareness methods, it was equally important to achieve this through a sound and sustainable approach, with regards to the rapidly growing cybersecurity market and the consequent generation of new cybersecurity related jobs. To this end, FORESIGHT aligned its scientific and technological development with emerging social and economic trends as well as customer needs. Here, the innovative aspects of FORESIGHT demonstrated clear advancements compared to the current market and existing cybersecurity solutions.

Outreach and awareness raising

The consortium partners have been continuously engaged in numerous diverse outreach activities in order to disseminate the project and raise awareness among both the general audiences and relevant stakeholders. To this end, outstanding results were produced from research publications as well as venues, synergies and clustering initiatives. Overall, FORESIGHT, although a very ambitious project, succeeded to meet the exploitation objectives and to receive positive feedback from experts, since the world is looking for ways to empower and protect itself, both legally and economically, and increase the resilience of society to cyberattacks.

Key project outputs

After 42 months, the project concluded with the following key achievements:

• The FORESIGHT platform incorporates three domain-specific cyber-ranges and supports six different simulation training environments as well as hybrid scenarios spanning multiple domains
• The training content and innovative training curricula materials are domain-agnostic, offering a wide perspective and broader knowledge to cybersecurity professionals
• Developed realistic scenarios to train the next day’s cybersecurity experts to adapt to new threats, considering complex inter-domain dependencies
• Designed and implemented incident response methodology based on risk analysis and econometric models aimed at protecting valuable organization/company assets
• Successfully showcased the practical implementation and the instantiation of the platform through three pilots in the aviation, maritime and power grid domains
• FORESIGHT results were published in numerous international scientific journals and conference proceedings and disseminated at more than 20 scientific conferences and workshops

FORESIGHT – A competitive and up-to-date solution

FORESIGHT, as a technologically advanced, federated cyber-range platform for aviation, power grid and naval ecosystems, provides a dynamic, modular, and adaptable solution, which is able to extend the capabilities of existing cyber-ranges. Built on principles of scalability and sustainability, both in its technological and business aspects, FORESIGHT is positioned to remain a competitive and up-to-date solution, being able to provide a high-quality training service well into the foreseeable future. Based on the strategic market analysis, FORESIGHT platform has a substantial exploitation potential for cybersecurity training, where its key advantages include realistic simulations and multi domain functionality. However, long-term success will require careful attention to compatibility and legislative considerations to ensure sustained impact.

Links

https://foresight-h2020.eu/

https://twitter.com/FORESIGHT_H2020

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8865069/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXwhbVlSHaS7i3srzSKNDXw/

Keywords

Cyber-range, cyber-security, preparedness, security training, threats, organisations, exploitation, IPR,