Successful Acquisition of the NCC-DE Digital Project

23 October 2023

As part of a call for proposals under the European Commission’s Digital Europe Program (DIGITAL), a consortium consisting of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the Project Management Agency at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and the Research Insitute CODE  at the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich was awarded the project “NCC-DE – Capacity Building for the German National Coordination Center for Cybersecurity in Industry, Technology, and Research,” with a total budget of approximately two million euros (with a funding rate of 50%).

The European Parliament and the European Council have agreed to establish the European Cyber Security Center (ECCC) and a network of national coordination centers covering the entire European Union, based on EU Regulation 2021/887. The ECCC and the network are intended to pool investments in research, technology, and industrial development in the field of cybersecurity and to better coordinate the planning of the Horizon Europe and Digital Europe programs.

IIn Germany, the National Coordination Center (NCC-DE) for Cybersecurity in Industry, Technology, and Research is a joint initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homeland (BMI), the Federal Ministry of Defense (BMVg), and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), as well as individual ministry-affiliated research institutions (the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the Research Insitute CODE, and the DLR Project Management Agency). The BSI serves as the central point of contact for the ECCC, the NCC network, and national stakeholders.

The NCC network will intensify collaboration among member states and enable interested parties from government, industry, and research in the EU to find partners for multilateral projects more quickly and easily, thereby strengthening the EU’s digital sovereignty. Within each member state, the respective NCC promotes and intensifies dialogue and collaboration among interested national partners. In this way, the flow of information to the ECCC is consolidated to provide optimal support to the national cybersecurity community and ensure that national interests are effectively represented in the EU funding process.

Funding from the “Digital Europe” program is intended to support the initial establishment of the NCC-DE, which is already in place and is expected to remain active beyond the funding period of October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2025. The funding is intended to ensure that the core tasks can be carried out quickly and effectively.

More details: https://nkcs.bund.de

Central contact: nkcs@bsi.bund.de

Local Contact Point:

PD Dr. habil. Corinna Schmitt
Forschungsinstitut CODE
Universität der Bundeswehr München
E-Mail: corinna.schmitt@unibw.de

^{This project, funded under Grant Agreement No. 101126787, is supported by the European Cybersecurity Competence Center. Funded by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Center of Excellence for Cybersecurity. Neither the European Union nor the European Center of Excellence for Cybersecurity can be held responsible for them.}

^{Photo: © NCC-DE}