Five research projects will increase Sweden’s resilience against cyber attacks

To address the high-priority challenges society and industry face in cyber security, Sweden’s largest research program Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program (WASP), has invested heavily in multidisciplinary research projects and recruitments during 2023. Now five projects have been awarded grants – all focusing on cyber security in AI, autonomous systems and software.

The projects, called NEST (short for novelty, excellence, synergies and teams), consist of some of the best researchers from various research fields. The aim is to tackle challenging research questions that have a potentially large impact on academia, industry and society. This is the first time WASP chooses to grant NEST-projects within a specific area. The reason is to address the high-priority challenges society and industry face in cyber security.

“The need for improved cybersecurity is urgent in both society and industry. The five extensive projects that WASP is now launching add unique value to Swedish industry and society and have long-term effects that will strengthen Sweden’s ability to withstand cyberattacks. The goal of these world-leading research projects is to consolidate fundamental research in the field and make Sweden more competitive in cybersecurity,” says Anders Ynnerman, Program Director for WASP.

The five projects are financed thanks to the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation who marked 200 million SEK for strategic research and recruitments in cyber security.

The five projects that have been granted funding

• ShiftLeft Securing the Software Supply Chain by Code-centric Analysis
  A paradigm-shift to secure code and seamless integration in the software development lifecycle.
• AI-based side-channel attacks and countermeasures for autonomous systems
  To protect autonomous systems from side-channel attacks
• AIR²: AI for Attack Identification, Response, and Recovery
  Where Software and Communications Meet in the Next Decade: Cybersecurity Attacks and Defences
• Source
  Using generative AI to ensure secure operation in dynamic edge scenarios
• DYNACON- DYNamic Attack detection and mitigation for seCure AutONomy.
  Protect autonomous systems from cyber-attacks targeting control systems.