Vicomtech and Ikerlan lead the implementation of cybersecurity

As a result of the ÉGIDA research project, in which the BRTA (Basque Research and Technology Alliance) centres IKERLAN and Vicomtech participate, the Basque industrial ecosystem has experienced a qualitative leap in security and privacy technologies in the last three years. ÉGIDA, the first and only national network in security and privacy technologies made up of four technology centres of excellence in the Basque Country, Andalusia and Galicia, held a meeting today in Bilbao that brought together cybersecurity professionals and companies interested in learning about the latest developments in this field. In this context, IKERLAN presented the advanced solutions it has developed for LKS Next and Arteche in the field of digital identity protection and cybersecurity in embedded systems, respectively. In turn, Vicomtech presented the results obtained in the project developed for Natural Vox in terms of identity and data privacy.

The aim of the ÉGIDA project has been to strengthen the national innovation system and the cybersecurity technology market, bringing security and privacy technologies closer to companies. Thus, since May 2020, the network has fostered collaboration between leading technology centres in industrial cybersecurity and has promoted the maturity level of different technologies associated with security and privacy protection, working with a clear vocation to develop market-oriented research.

"Thanks to the impetus of ÉGIDA, technologies that three years ago were in the experimental phase at laboratory level are now being tested in controlled production environments," explains Marc Barceló, an expert researcher in cybersecurity at IKERLAN.  The centre has contributed its experience in cybersecurity to the project, both in the development, evaluation and certification of industrial components and in technologies for distributed networks, such as 5G cellular networks, IoT or blockchain.

As an example of application, IKERLAN presented two cases of technology transfer for LKS Next and Arteche in Bilbao. For the technology consultancy firm, it has developed a digital identity management platform that makes it possible to generate, distribute and even destroy securely "what would be the equivalent of the ID card of industrial machinery connected to the internet".  In the case of Arteche, for its part, IKERLAN has validated the definition of a methodology that will enable the aforementioned company to obtain IEC 62443 certification for its products aimed at the electricity sector, the benchmark standard in cybersecurity for industrial components.

"Working in the ÉGIDA network has allowed us to establish solid links between the centres and offer a more cohesive image to companies in the sector," says Raúl Orduna, director of Vicomtech's Digital Security Department. In this case, the centre has led the identity management activity and has participated in binary code analysis, anomaly analysis and automated protection measures.

As an example of application to the privacy protection sector, Vicomtech and NaturalVox have presented an example of collaboration for the detection of identity theft through voice. This collaboration has allowed research with a more realistic case and real data, validating the approach through the good results obtained in research competitions. During the project, use cases obtained by synthetic generation and by recording reproduction have been considered, using deep learning algorithms to detect impersonation, concluding that it is more advantageous to apply it with data close to the application domain, and making it possible to study in which parts of the production process it would be more interesting to apply it.

ÉGIDA, at the cutting edge of cybersecurity 

ÉGIDA is the first and only national network in security and privacy technologies made up by technology centres of excellence. It was created in January 2020, within the framework of the Cervera Programme for Technology Centres, of the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Centre for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI), to strengthen applied research, reinforcing the technological capabilities of the centres that make it up and promoting collaboration with companies. The network is made up of IKERLAN, Vicomtech, Gradiant and Fidesol. It has received an investment of 3.3 million euros.

Since its establishment, ÉGIDA has addressed research in security and privacy technologies in four main areas: applied cryptography technologies for the protection of confidential information; digital identity and privacy for fraud prevention; security in distributed systems to improve security in disruptive technologies and their use with IoT, 5G or DLT / blockchain technologies; as well as the development of secure information systems to increase the resilience of information systems against cyber-attacks.

The forum held today in Bilbao has brought together current and future cybersecurity professionals, as well as industrial companies interested in the cybersecurity technologies developed in the project and which can be applied in their activity.