On the 1 of October, 2020 a European project "Boosting the scientific excellence and innovation capacity in Cyber security of the Professor Tsvetan Lazarov Bulgarian Defence Institute" (CyNET *) was started. It is part of the National Programme "European Scientific Networks", which aims to:

• networking and partnership with foreign leading universities and scientific organizations;

• improving the capacity in the research field in terms of preparation of doctoral and postdoctoral programs, as well as project management;

• improved reputation, attractiveness and networking;

• preparing to participate in the next “Horizon Europe” Framework Programme (2021-2027) and

• better connectivity with the financing of national scientific programmes.

For the implementation of the project, whose coordinator is the Defence Institute, a consortium of leading international research organizations and institutes in the field of cybersecurity was established: Austrian Institute of Technology GMBH (AIT); National University of Ireland Maynoot (NUIM); Bournemouth University (BU), United Kingdom; The University of Library Studies and Information Technologies (SULSIT), Bulgaria and the Polytechnic Foundation in Milan (FPM), Italy. The first consortium meeting took place in mid-October this year.

CyNET's objective is to establish cooperation between the Defence Institute with leading international research organisations and to improve its scientific, research and innovation profile in the cybersecurity field. This is believed to boost participation in internationally recognised high-quality research, educational activities and research network work. CyNET will lead to the transfer of knowledge for applied research and technology through close the consortium cooperation with research organizations, government institutions, the industry and business partners.

The project has a duration of 24 months (01.10.2020 - 30.09.2022) and it is funded by the Ministry of Education and Science under the National Program "European Scientific Networks".

The academic staff of the Defense Institute, as one of the leading research organizations in the cybersecurity field in Bulgaria, it has so far participated in several research and experiments in the field of cybersecurity. The CyNET project opens up new horizons to the Institute for boosting the scientific and innovation capacity of cybersecurity researchers by cooperation with developed and leading international organizations and scientific institutes.

* CyNET - Boosting the scientific excellence and innovation capacity in Cyber security of the Bulgarian Defence Institute.