The strategic goal of the H2020 EU funded project “PRAETORIAN” is to increase the security and resilience of European Critical Infrastructures (CIs), by facilitating the coordinated protection of interrelated CIs against combined physical and cyber threats. PRAETORIAN creates a toolset that will support the security managers of CIs in their decision making to anticipate and withstand potential cyber, physical and combined security threats to their own infrastructures and other interrelated CIs.

PRAETORIAN is a CI-led project, and ever since the beginning, it uses a “user-driven” methodology which implies the involvement of 9 end users (CI operators) and 3 First Responders (FRs) in the whole project life cycle. It will demonstrate its results in three international pilot clusters, including cross-border scenarios, involving 2 international airports, 2 ports, 3 hospitals and 2 power operators. PRAETORIAN’s solutions will be packaged in the form of 4 products that will be designed and developed throughout the lifespan of the project, including a Cyber, Physical, Hybrid (i.e. combination of cyber and physical domains) and Coordinated Response system in a response to the identified problems.

Project results are validated in real-world contexts of interdependent CI to improve efficiency, resilience and societal benefits, also considering human factors. We ensure that the solutions comply with legal, ethical, societal and privacy principles, including recommendations from regulatory authorities and connection with European security agencies. Finally, the project disseminates the results by sharing information on threats to the communities concerned, in order to promote tailored solutions beyond the project participants.

To this end, PRAETORIAN solutions will have a great positive impact across different dimensions; economic, social, ethical, privacy, safety, replicability and up scaling, and to the corresponding policy recommendations for European standards.