Communication, Promotion and Development Sector
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Email: prinfo@ucy.ac.cy
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16 September 2026
European Project COCOON: A Pioneering Cybersecurity Solution for Modern Power Systems
A pioneering, integrated software system to address cybersecurity challenges and enhance the resilience of large, interconnected electricity networks across Europe has been developed by the consortium of the European project COCOON (COoperative Cyber PrOtection for mOderN Power Grids).
COCOON, with a budget of pound 5.8 million and the participation of 12 partners, is the first European Innovation Action project funded by the Horizon Europe Program, coordinated by the University of Cyprus and the KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence. The technologies developed within the project reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7, paving the way for a realistic solution that meets the industrial, regulatory, and legal requirements for protecting interconnected energy infrastructure from cyberattacks.
Over the course of its three-year run, the project partners worked together to develop a comprehensive set of cyber-physical protection tools, including a data-driven Early Warning System for anomaly detection. The system was tested and evaluated at four real-world infrastructure sites in three European countries: in Greece, at energy communities as well as at the Regional Coordination Centre for cross-border electricity transmission systems in Southeast Europe; in Spain, at an energy distribution system with ancillary services from photovoltaic parks; and in the Netherlands, at a Distribution System Operator substation.
These technological solutions offer:
g411Millisecond-speed protection against cyberattacks for Transmission and Distribution System Operators, as well as energy providers.Operator alerts in less than 5 seconds, enabling rapid response and decision-making.Threat profiling and attack detection accuracy exceeding 98%.Real-time information on the origin of cyber-physical threats, delivered within seconds.Resilient control routing restoration and system recovery within seconds, even under attack or fault conditions.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101120221.