Cascade funding: enhance cybersecurity across critical infrastructure sectors

The 9-month cascade funding and technical implementation programme is structured into 3 consecutive Sprints and focuses primarily on Operational Technology (OT) environments such as energy, transport, healthcare, and water management.

Selected third parties will work alongside assigned CIPHER mentors to test, validate, and expand CIPHER’s collaborative, “available-as-a-service” testing facility and cyber-range platform across three operational modes: Knowledge, Testing, or Range/Environment.

Programme benefits:

• Equity-free cascade funding: A maximum grant of up to €60,000 per project (covering 50% co-funding of total eligible costs) disbursed in 3 milestone-based lump-sum payments (20% pre-financing in Sprint 1, 40% in Sprint 2, and 40% in Sprint 3).

• Technical mentorship & platform access: Dedicated guidance from CIPHER technical mentors, access to isolated testing environments, scoped credentials, and specialised SaaS components (e.g., Wazuh XDR SaaS, immutable S3 WORM storage, and the Risk Monitoring Bundle).

• Ecosystem visibility: Participation in the official CIPHER Demo Day, networking opportunities with European cybersecurity stakeholders, and support from the CIPHER dissemination team.

The call is open to Startups, SMEs, RTOs, or mid-caps offering products or solutions at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 6 to 8 established in EU Member States, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Applications can be submitted by single legal entities or micro-consortia (maximum 3 partners).

More information and all relevant documents needed to apply can be found on the project website and the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Deadline to submit applications is 6 January 2026.

Background: Digital Europe-funded project CIPHER aims to reshape the resilience of Europe’s critical infrastructure and to fortify the security and information assurance of essential sectors. CIPHER contributes directly to the EU’s Cybersecurity Strategy for the Digital Decade by fostering technological sovereignty and leadership in the global cybersecurity landscape. It focuses on pre-emptive security, preparedness, and holistic resilience develops a collaborative, standardized, and available-as-a-service testing facility.