CIPHER Open Call 1
CIPHER Open Call 1 supports technology providers and infrastructure end-users with cybersecurity assessments, technical validation, and platform development to strengthen critical infrastructure resilience.
Funder: European Commission
Due Dates: January 6, 2027, 17:00 CET (Submission deadline)
Funding Amounts: Up to €60,000 per project for nine months, covering 50% of eligible costs; €4,320,000 total available
Summary: Supports cybersecurity audits, technical validation, cyber-range contributions, and platform automation for critical infrastructure resilience.
Key Information: Applicants must be established in the EU or EEA; non-public applicants must meet EU ownership and control restrictions.
Description
CIPHER Open Call 1 is a cascade-funding programme run by the CIPHER Consortium under the EU-funded Cybersecurity Intelligence, Protection, and Holistic Enterprise Resilience project. It supports preparedness and mutual assistance for larger industrial operations and installations, prioritising Operational Technology (OT) and critical infrastructure sectors such as energy, transport, healthcare, telecommunications, and water management.
Selected third parties work with CIPHER mentors to test, validate, and expand its collaborative, available-as-a-service testing facility and cyber-range platform. Work spans NIS2 compliance assessments, industrial pentesting methodology, vulnerability-management pipelines, XDR telemetry ingestion, sector-emulation ranges, and DevSecOps automation. Projects follow a nine-month, three-sprint programme covering onboarding, technical implementation and integration, and final validation and demonstration.
