ASSIST Software is a partner in SECASSURED, a new European research and innovation project funded under the Horizon Europe programme, which addresses the increasing security challenges posed by complex digital systems. The initiative brings together leading research organisations, industrial companies, and public stakeholders from across Europe to develop new approaches for securing modern software and hardware systems that rely heavily on artificial intelligence and third-party components.

Today’s software and hardware platforms are increasingly assembled from open-source libraries, commercial products, external services, and AI-based components. While this approach accelerates development and scalability, it also introduces security risks, particularly when individual components operate with limited transparency. SECASSURED focuses on improving how security is designed, tested, and maintained across such systems, supporting reliability, compliance, and trust throughout their lifecycle.

Limited Component Transparency Creates New Security Challenges

As digital platforms expand across sectors such as telecommunications, energy, healthcare, aerospace, and smart mobility, traditional security approaches are increasingly strained. Many critical systems rely on components that cannot be fully inspected or controlled, complicating vulnerability assessment and compliance.

“As digital systems become more complex and increasingly dependent on third-party and AI components, ensuring their security is becoming significantly more challenging, particularly in the context of generative AI,” said Phu Nguyen, Project Coordinator of SECASSURED on behalf of SINTEF. “SECASSURED addresses this by developing AI-based tools that support assurance-driven security engineering and help developers integrate external components securely and in line with evolving EU regulations.”

Using AI and Digital Twins to Test Security Safely

SECASSURED uses artificial intelligence and digital replicas of digital systems to test security in a safe and controlled way. Instead of experimenting directly on live systems, which can disrupt operations, key components are recreated in virtual environments where potential vulnerabilities can be examined without risk.

This makes it possible to spot security and compliance problems earlier, as systems are built or updated, rather than after they are already in use. By checking security continuously as systems change, the project supports the development of digital platforms that businesses and public services can rely on over time, across connected devices, networks, and cloud services.

A Consortium of Leading European Research and Industry Organisations

SECASSURED brings together 19 organisations from 10 European countries, combining leading research institutions with major industrial players from critical sectors. The project is coordinated by SINTEF AS, Norway’s largest independent research organisation, and includes partners such as Fraunhofer FOKUS (Germany), Aalto University (Finland), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), CERTH (Greece), and industry participants including Orange Romania (Orange Group), Public Power Corporation (Greece), IDEKO and ITP Aero (Spain), and TellU (Norway). ASSIST Software is part of this consortium, working alongside these established European research and industry leaders.

The consortium held its first in-person meeting on 21–22 January in Athens, where partners aligned on technical priorities, confirmed the project architecture, and coordinated the next implementation steps across research and industry use cases.

ASSIST Software’s Role in Turning Research into Working Systems

ASSIST Software’s role is to ensure that the solutions developed within SECASSURED operate together as an integrated system. The company focuses on operational integration and continuous security assurance, applying SecureFlow-based CI/CD practices so that the project’s tools can be securely combined, tested, and scaled in real deployment environments.

In practical terms, ASSIST Software engineers the project's central platform, integrating AI security tools for major European energy, telecom, aerospace setting up environments for validation and real-world usage.

The company also helps shape the overall system's design and ensures the project’s work can be applied across sectors. These include telecommunications networks, aerospace systems, energy infrastructure, digital health platforms, and smart mobility services, all of which require reliability and security.

“Security challenges today are rarely caused by a single component, but by how many different technologies are combined and updated over time,” said ASSIST Software’s Chief Operating Officer and expert Adrian Onu. “SECASSURED builds on this understanding by addressing security at system level, with a focus on continuous assurance as systems evolve in real operational environments.”

Strengthening Europe’s Digital Resilience

SECASSURED is funded under the HORIZON-CL3-2024-CS-01-01 call (project ID 101225858) and is supported by the European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technology, and Research Competence Centre. The project reflects Europe’s broader efforts to strengthen digital resilience and ensure that advanced technologies can be deployed securely in critical sectors.

ASSIST Software’s involvement in SECASSURED builds on its ongoing participation in European cybersecurity initiatives. The company is also coordinating LLM4CIP, a project funded under the Digital Europe Programme that focuses on improving cybersecurity preparedness for critical infrastructure through the use of large language models. Together, these initiatives reflect a sustained engagement in applied cybersecurity research and implementation, spanning both Horizon Europe and Digital Europe frameworks.

*This is a press release.