Cyberagentur invites tenders for interdisciplinary research project
The Agentur für Innovation in der Cybersicherheit GmbH (Cyberagentur) calls for proposals for two competitions on Future Cybercrime on 14 February 2024. These competitions explore the future developments with regard to the interaction of technological, cultural and structural aspects in cybercrime.
Cybercrime is a serious and growing problem in Germany whose scale can hardly be assessed because of a limited availability of reliable data. Private individuals are affected to varying degrees, as are companies and public authorities. In general, there is a great need to develop the ability to anticipate cybercrime and its development.
Given this background, the Cyberagentur’s call for tenders addresses the urgent need of law enforcement authorities for advanced pattern recognition and analysis as well as future analysis in the field of cybercrime. Previous reports such as Europol’s IOCTA report, the BKA’s Federal Cybercrime Report and the BSI’s IT Security Situation Report provide a thorough analysis of current developments. Yet, they do not explore future trends or country-specific differences such as cultural and structural conditions.
The aim of the tender is therefore to identify future developments and manifestations of cybercrime in Germany and Europe at an early stage in order to be able to act proactively and develop advanced investigative approaches. These insights will enable future disruptive research to strengthen cybersecurity and societal resilience as well as help law enforcement authorities in their fight against cybercrime.
The advertised call for research comprises two subprojects. The competition in the first subproject focuses on the early detection of global developments in cybercrime through pattern recognition and analysis. The aim is to develop an early warning system that considers the cultural and structural conditions of different countries. The competition in the second subproject aims to produce forecasts of how cybercrime in Germany will be influenced by technological change over the next 5-15 years. By taking cultural and structural factors into account, it should be possible to make forecasts and draft options for action that are specifically tailored to national conditions.
The competition is organized into three phases for each subproject. In phase 1, a project proposal needs to be created, which should then be transformed into a detailed concept in phase 2. A jury, consisting of representatives from the Cyberagentur, national security authorities and the scientific community, will then evaluate these detailed concepts. The final phase 3 comprises the implementation of the most promising concept for each subproject.
With these advanced research missions, Germany positions itself at the forefront of cybercrime research. It does not merely react to current threats but actively develops future-oriented strategies and solutions.
The invitation to tender was published in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union with the award number 102877-2024: https://ted.europa.eu/de/notice/-/detail/102877-2024. The end of the competition is 18.03.2024, 13:00.
Further information: https://www.cyberagentur.de/zck/