Romania’s ULBS joins €6M Horizon Europe cyber AI project

Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu is part of a 24-member Horizon Europe consortium building an AI-driven cybersecurity platform for European SOCs and incident-response teams. The €5.97 million project allocates €220,000 to ULBS and targets faster detection, coordination and response to cross-border cyberattacks.

Why it matters: - CyberINTEL-X aims to strengthen Europe’s response to cyberattacks on critical infrastructure. - The project is built to help security teams detect, coordinate and act on cross-border incidents in real time. - The consortium is designed to improve information sharing and crisis management across European cyber institutions.

What happened: - Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu secured a Horizon Europe research grant as part of CyberINTEL-X, a project focused on operational cybersecurity for Security Operations Centers and Computer Security Incident Response Teams. - The consortium includes 24 members from academia, research and industry. - The project budget totals €5,971,811. - ULBS received an allocated budget of €220,000 for its research role. - Lecturer Daniel Hunyadi, PhD, from ULBS’s Faculty of Sciences, leads the university’s contribution.

The details: - CyberINTEL-X is designed to develop, integrate and validate an AI-driven cyber-intelligence and crisis management platform. - The platform is intended for Security Operations Centers, Computer Security Incident Response Teams, National Coordination Centres, the CSIRT Network and EU-CyCLONe. - The project combines artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, digital simulation and crisis-management tools. - The framework aligns with the NIS2 Directive, the Cyber Resilience Act and the EU Cybersecurity Strategy. - The project is titled CyberINTEL-X – From Detection to Action, The Next Generation of Operational Cybersecurity for SOCs and CSIRTs. - The researchers say the final platform is expected to provide real-time contextual analysis, rapid crisis response and secure information sharing among European partners.

Between the lines: - The project signals a shift from reactive cybersecurity toward coordinated, AI-assisted defense. - The large consortium suggests Europe is trying to standardize cyber response across borders instead of relying on isolated national systems. - The focus on regulatory alignment shows the project is built to fit into the EU’s broader cybersecurity policy agenda, not operate as a standalone research effort.

What's next: - CyberINTEL-X will move through development, integration and validation phases before delivery of the platform. - The consortium will test whether AI tools can improve detection speed, crisis coordination and secure collaboration across European partners. - ULBS’s research team will contribute to the project under the leadership of Daniel Hunyadi.

The bottom line: - ULBS is now part of a major EU-backed effort to turn AI into a practical tool for defending Europe against increasingly complex cyber threats.