How can European cybersecurity projects and collaboration between them help turn regulatory requirements into practical action? This was one of the central question at Building Cyber Resilience in the Digital Era, held on 2 October 2026 in Athens, Greece.
Jointly organised by the EU-funded projects CRACoWi, DETANGLE and INCIDENTRON, the event brought together more than 40 participants and representatives of 11 EU-funded projects to exchange knowledge, share experiences and explore opportunities for collaboration in strengthening Europe’s cybersecurity resilience.
The event was opened by Dr. Siranush Akarmazyan (ITML), setting the stage for discussions on the challenges and opportunities surrounding cybersecurity regulation and its practical implementation.
The event focused on three closely connected areas: the NIS2 Directive, the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), and cross-border cybersecurity incident response.
These topics represent different but complementary aspects of Europe’s approach to cybersecurity. While regulatory frameworks establish requirements and responsibilities, organisations also need practical knowledge, tools and capabilities to implement them effectively.
The workshop brought together representatives of CRACoWi, DETANGLE, INCIDENTRON, OSCRAT, SONIC, CURIUM, WEM Cyber, CYBERFORT, CyberSynchrony, APPtake and TrustBoost.
Each project contributes to the broader European cybersecurity ecosystem, and bringing them together provided an opportunity to exchange experiences and identify common interests across their activities.
Moving Beyond Compliance
One of the central messages of the event was that building digital resilience requires more than compliance – it requires continuous collaboration, preparedness and action.
For CRACoWi, this message is particularly relevant. The project is developing practical support to help companies, especially SMEs, understand and address Cyber Resilience Act requirements through the CRACoWi Wizard, free CRA Scope Assessment and CRAcademy knowledge resources.
However, CRA implementation does not happen in isolation. Companies operate in a broader cybersecurity environment where regulatory obligations, technical challenges and operational preparedness are increasingly interconnected.
Events bringing together complementary EU-funded initiatives provide an opportunity to share expertise, learn from different approaches and strengthen the connections needed to support organisations effectively.
Strengthening Collaboration Between EU-Funded Projects
Beyond individual project activities, the workshop highlighted the value of cooperation within the European cybersecurity ecosystem.
Bringing together 11 projects around shared challenges created opportunities for knowledge exchange and further collaboration, helping participating initiatives better understand each other’s work and identify areas of common interest.
For CRACoWi, such exchanges are an important part of connecting the project’s activities with the wider European efforts to strengthen cybersecurity and support organisations facing new regulatory requirements.
The event reflected a shared ambition among the participating projects: to turn regulation into action, compliance into resilience, and shared challenges into opportunities for collaboration.
CRACoWi thanks the co-organisers, participating projects, speakers and all attendees who contributed to the event and its discussions.
We look forward to continuing the exchange and building on the connections established in Athens.
