ECSO is an industry-led organisation with members including a wide variety of stakeholders such as large European companies, SMEs, research centres, universities, clusters and associations as well as European Member State’s local, regional and national administrations, countries part of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and H2020 associated countries.
The main objective of ECSO is to support all types of initiatives or projects that aim to develop, promote, encourage European cybersecurity, and in particular to:
- Foster and protect from cyber threats the growth of the European Digital Single Market
- Develop the European cybersecurity market and the growth of a competitive European cybersecurity and ICT industry, with an increased market position;
- Develop and implement European cybersecurity solutions for the critical steps of trusted supply chains, in sectoral applications where Europe is a leader.
ECSO is engaged in taking concrete actions to achieve these objectives by:
- Collaborate with the European Commission and national public administrations to promote Research and Innovation (R&I) in cybersecurity;
- Propose a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) and a Multiannual Roadmap with regular updates;
- Foster market development and investments in demonstration projects and pilots to facilitate bringing innovation to the cybersecurity market;
- Foster competitiveness and growth of the European cybersecurity industry (large companies and SMEs) as well as end users/operators through innovative cybersecurity technologies, applications, services, and solutions;
- Support the widest and best market uptake of European innovative cybersecurity technologies and services for professional and private use;
- Promote and assist in the definition and implementation of a European cybersecurity industrial policy to encourage the use of European cybersecurity solutions as well as secure and trustworthy European ICT solutions to increase digital autonomy;
- Support the development and the interests of the entire cybersecurity and ICT security ecosystem (including education, training awareness, etc.);
On January 20, 2016, a preparation workshop for the “Contractual Public-Private Partnership” between the European Commission, Member States and the European Cyber Security Industry took place in Brussels. The workshop aimed to brainstorm on the concept of a Public-Private Partnership. As a result of the workshop 5 working groups of industry representatives were formed to create ECSO.
The act for the creation of the European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO) ASBL has been officially signed on 13th June in Brussels. ECSO is a fully self-financed not-for-profit association (ASBL) under Belgian law.
ADDITESS is represented by Mr Nikolaos Koutras in the European Cyber Security Organisation. ADDITESS is representing the Cyprus Industry as a private SME and will contribute to ECSO’s objectives with its extensive knowledge and experience in R&D in the field of security and cybersecurity.
ADDITESS is a founding member of the European Anti-Cybercrime Technology Development Association (EACTDA).
The objective of EACTDA is the development of technological solutions for European Authority Agencies and Forensic Institutes in the fight against crime.
EACTDA is formed in collaboration with DG Home of the European Commission and the consortium of the European project ASGARD H2020 and started its activity in 2021.
ADDITESS is a member of the EUNWA association, the European Neighbourhood Watch Association, founded in 2014. ADDITESS participated in the 3rd Conference that took place in Vienna on the 30th of September and 1st of October.
More about the association:
Two years ago, proNACHBAR, Vienna, started a project aimed at initiating a European communication platform for neighbourhood watch schemes and stakeholders interested in the protection of citizens from becoming victims of crime, burglaries, personal injuries, harassment, scam and similar crimes.
In October 2014 EUNWA held its founding conference in Vienna which was, at the same time, its first annual meeting. EUNWA’s concept of acting as a European umbrella organization was received with overwhelming enthusiasm. In the meantime, we conducted a survey among members reviewing the community policing situation in many countries, extended greatly our partnership network of members, authorities and sundry stakeholders (described in the “White Book of European Neighbourhood Watch”), and assisted our Italian members of ACdV in organizing the second annual meeting in October 2015.
In 2013 ADDITESS in collaboration with the Centre for Risk and Decision Sciences (CERIDES) of the European University of Cyprus (EUC) developed a common framework of actions for the proper promotion of Security and Citizen Protection at any level. The main objective of this collaboration is to create all the necessary institutions, procedures and structures, which will allow the exchange of know-how, the transfer of experiences, and the organization of common actions and programmes between Additess and the Centre for Risk and Decision Sciences (CERIDES) in mutual interest issues.
The object of this collaboration includes the promotion and support of actions relevant to the Security and the Protection of the Citizens in Greece and Cyprus. More specifically, ADDITESS and CERIDES intend to provide supporting and consulting services within the framework of know-how and experience exchange regarding the following:
Composition and submission of European projects and development programmes tenders
Implementation and Management of various Projects and Programmes
Drafting of Security and Protection studies
Technical Consultant in the Security sector services provided
Strengthening of resources and infrastructures
More specifically, this collaboration may be related to the following issues:
Critical Infrastructure Protection and especially, those described in the EC Directive regarding the Critical Infrastructure Protection 114/2008 EC
Risk Assessment Regarding Physical Security Systems
Natural Disasters Resillience
Major Events Security Management
Crisis Management through the Use of advanced technologies and Systems. The results of this collaboration made possible the successful submission of a number of research proposals and the partnership in the implementation of 3 EU Research Projects.
For more details about the Centre for Risk and Decision Sciences (CERIDES), you can enter here.
