The ATHENA project, “Advanced validation and testing environment for enhancing the EU HW and SW vulnerabilities assessment and security based on Innovative AI services”, will offer a flexible and scalable cybersecurity solution for software (SW) and hardware (HW) manufacturers, information security officers (CISOs) and specialized cybersecurity personnel.

This solution will enable them to test, validate and ensure that their software and hardware products comply with the new EU mandatory security requirements (Cyber Resilience Act – CRA) and are ready for certification according to the schemes proposed in the EU Cybersecurity Act Certification Framework (CACF).

In addition, ATHENA will include a dedicated security engineering tool to ensure the reliability of new SW and HW products from the early stages of development and their compliance with both the mandatory essential security requirements set out in new harmonized EU legislation, including, for example, the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), the NIS2 Directive and the Data Act, and with the specific security needs of stakeholders.

In addition, several innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based security services will be developed and integrated into the ATHENA solution, along with an advanced set of automated tools for vulnerability detection and assessment. These capabilities will ensure the continuous security assessment of SW and HW products, as well as their protection against complex cyber threats.

The main role of Fundación Valenciaport in the project is to leverage its results as a critical infrastructure operator, applying the knowledge acquired through the definition and coordination of the pilots or use cases. This will improve the situational awareness of cybersecurity (cyber-physical threats) of the port operational security team, as well as strengthen the protection of the ports’ critical hardware assets.

Validation of testing and verification of regulatory compliance on key systems, such as port site access cameras, will help strengthen the resilience and reliability of these infrastructures within the transportation sector.

Moreover, Fundación Valenciaport plans to extend this cybersecurity audit approach to other critical software and hardware assets of the Port of Valencia, thus consolidating a comprehensive strategy to protect against digital threats.