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Many important European companies now face cyber attacks from foreign governments, organised crime gangs, malicious employees and from competing companies. Cyber criminals are growing more sophisticated by the day, and are increasingly able to slip past network security applications such as intrusion detection systems, intrusion prevention systems, and next-generation firewalls.
The COUNTERCRAFT project, funded by the EU’s H2020 SME Instrument, recognises that network security architectures must continually evolve to keep up with the criminals. To help them do so, the project is developing a highly specialised, IT-based tool capable of detecting advanced targeted cyber-attacks. The tool stops attacks and extracts information about the identity and methods of the attackers.
Although there have been some exciting recent advances in the field of cyber defence, sophisticated cyber criminals also continue to innovate at a rapid pace, challenging security professionals in a head-to-head battle.
The COUNTERCRAFT project is taking the fight to the attackers, using solutions such as ‘deception technologies’. These are defences that the attacker is unaware of, that spring into action when conventional, perimeter defences have been overcome.
Crucially, the system can identify the attacker’s intentions, generating intelligence information and formulating ‘indicators of compromise’ to help further bolster cyber defences.
The overall cost of cyber attacks can be reduced by 50 % using the COUNTERCRAFT system, which also shortens the average period during which the computer is infected from 300 days to 90 days.
COUNTERCRAFT is helping EU companies to stop attacks that can have very detrimental effects in terms of productivity and revenues. This ultimately benefits company employees, clients and shareholders, and the economy as a whole.