![\"ECHO\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/logoUE.jpg\")
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In 2018, the European Commission, through the H2020 programme<\/strong>, launched a call<\/em> with the aim of bringing together specific specialist expertise, organising and co-funding four pilot projects designed to connect and share cross-sectoral knowledge in order to develop a common European strategy in the field of cybersecurity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n ECHO<\/strong> (an acronym for European network of Cybersecurity centres and competence Hub for innovation and Operations<\/em>) is one of the four pilot projects. Formally launched on 1 February 2019, it aims to provide an organised and coordinated approach to strengthening Cyber Defence<\/em> in the European Union<\/strong>, through the creation of a European network of centres of expertise in the field of Cyber Security, thereby contributing to the industrial strategy in this context.<\/p>\n The ECHO project comprises 30 partners<\/strong> including companies, academic institutions and universities from 15 EU Member States.<\/p>\n Since its inception, the European Commission has expressed strong interest in ECHO\u2019s objectives and results, and a direct and stated willingness to participate directly in its various phases of development and implementation of results. In this regard, the Commission has launched and is pursuing a major information campaign, as well as centralised coordination regarding the sharing of objectives and results.<\/p>\n With regard to the project objectives in which Exprivia<\/strong> is involved, the following are highlighted:<\/p>\n Objective 1:<\/strong> Establishment of a Network of research and competence centres on Cyber Security<\/strong>, coordinated through a Central Competence Hub<\/em>. The Network will be aligned with the work of the main dedicated European agencies and bodies, with a mandate to broaden participation in the work and thus the partner base, including the creation of synergies with partners from the other three projects funded alongside ECHO.<\/p>\n Objective 2:<\/strong> Establishment of a governance model for the ECHO Network<\/strong>, specifically designed to ensure the effective management of its centres of expertise.<\/p>\n Objective 3:<\/strong> Development of an ECHO Multi-sector Assessment Framework<\/strong>, aimed at providing the means to analyse cross-cutting and cross-sectoral challenges and opportunities and to support the development of a Cyber Security Technology Roadmap.<\/p>\n Objective 4:<\/strong> Analysis and derivation of the ECHO Cybersecurity Technology Roadmap<\/strong>, resulting from the application of the Multi-sector Assessment Framework to sectoral, cross-sectoral and cross-cutting challenges in the field of cybersecurity.<\/p>\n Objective 5:<\/strong> Development of an effective and efficient certification model, the ECHO Cybersecurity Certification Scheme<\/strong>, in line with ENISA\u2019s current efforts to establish an EU cybersecurity certification framework that addresses sectoral and cross-sectoral issues.<\/p>\n Objective 6:<\/strong> establishment of an operational ECHO Early Warning System<\/strong>, enabling partners to share incident data and other data relevant to cybersecurity with accredited partners within the ECHO network.<\/p>\n Objective 7:<\/strong> establishment of an operational ECHO Federated Cyber Range<\/strong>, which:<\/p>\n