Airbus Defence and Space, through its Airbus CyberSecurity unit and partnering with Atos as co-prime entity, has been selected by the Council of the European Union to provide cybersecurity expertise, products, services and solutions to help protect the IT systems of 17 European institutions, services and agencies.

This framework contract makes the consortium, in which Airbus Defence and Space acts as the lead company, the preferred provider of cybersecurity solutions for key European institutions for a minimum period of six years.

European institutions will be able to implement a co-ordinated and upgraded cyber protection solution for all 17 entities.

European institutions will be able to implement a co-ordinated and upgraded cyber protection solution for all 17 entities, including highly automated surveillance, warning, detection and response, training, and studies to develop a cybersecurity roadmap to tackle future cyber threats.

Experts from the consortium will provide on-site threat analysis for the European authorities and response schemes to attacks, to help them to respond effectively to these risks. In addition, the consortium will be responsible for raising the awareness of all European institution employees to cyber threats and provide cybersecurity training courses.

Landmark agreement

Dirk Hoke, Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Defence and Space, said: “This is a landmark agreement for us in the area of cybersecurity. The EU’s decision to award Airbus CyberSecurity such a critical cyber-protection contract is a strong endorsement of our capability and expertise. Cybersecurity is a growing area of concern for many institutions in the era of digitalisation.”

Pierre Barnabé, Chief Operating Officer for Big Data & Security at Atos, added: “This is a key step forward in our strategic partnership with Airbus Defence and Space to protect such vital organisations, while enabling Europe to develop a European Cyber Defence strategy.”

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