In CIPHER, the Institute of Communication & Computer Systems (ICCS) plays a central role, contributing to nearly every Work Package and leading critical technical tasks. ICCS spearheads the initiatives for Increased Preparedness through Risk Monitoring as the Leader of WP3, while providing the essential data, identity, and orchestration backbone for the CIPHER platform.
Meet the faces behind the project
- Prof. Gregoris Mentzas is Professor and Director of the Information Management Unit (IMU) at ICCS and Principal Investigator of the CIPHER project. The IMU team of ICCS at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) has a prominent role within the CIPHER project, being involved in almost all Work Packages and leading several technical tasks. Specifically, they lead the risk monitoring and countermeasure evaluation work-package, which focuses on delivering the data, identity and orchestration backbone of the CIPHER platform. They develop federated risk-monitoring agents, while also having a specific focus on the implementation of verifiable credentials and DID-based identity and role management. In addition, they lead crucial tasks related to the deployment framework for CIPHER in which they define preference-based deployment strategies and multi-criteria decision making methods to determine the appropriate placement of platform services and agents. Finally, as part of the security advisory services of the project, they deliver a holistic knowledge-base and data-sharing lifecycle management system to enable FAIR, governed and interoperable access to cybersecurity-related data.
In CIPHER, we will deliver a governed, secure and decentralized data management system, coupled with real-time risk monitoring and verifiable credentials for both human and software agents, operating within the cybersecurity perimeter of modern organisations. We are proud to contribute to strengthening Europe’s digital resilience!
- Dr. Georgia Gkioka is a Post-doc Senior Researcher at IMU ICCS, with the aim of supporting the development of integrated and interoperable cybersecurity solutions for Europe. Within CIPHER, her work focuses on the design and implementation of a comprehensive knowledge base and data-sharing lifecycle management system, as part of the project’s security advisory services. This includes enabling FAIR, governed, and interoperable access to cybersecurity-related data, facilitating secure collaboration and informed decision-making across stakeholders. Meanwhile, she contributes to technical reporting and day-to-day operational management of the project, ensuring alignment with project objectives.
Effective modern cybersecurity solutions need to go beyond protection — they should serve and empower stakeholders through trusted, interoperable, and well-governed data ecosystems.
- Assist. Prof. Yiannis Verginadis is a Senior Researcher at ICCS and the Work Package 3 (WP3) Leader. As WP3 leader, he is responsible for managing and coordinating the collaborative work of seven consortium partners on information systems that introduce increased preparedness through risk monitoring and countermeasure evaluation. The objective is to address the limitations of current SIEM and IDS systems by providing real-time, context-aware, and actionable intelligence tailored to the complex, interconnected environments of critical infrastructure sectors. He also contributes scientifically to the efficient, real-time risk monitoring and to the blockchain-based continuous authentication and just-in-time authorization capabilities of CIPHER.
In modern organizations, cyber resilience is no longer optional. I am committed to advancing CIPHER as a holistic solution that contributes to the foundation of trust in Europe’s digital infrastructure.
- Georgios Lagos is a Researcher at IMU ICCS. His work focuses on Verifiable Credentials Management, which emphasizes how digital identity and access control can become more secure, transparent and reliable using blockchain technology. In practice, this means helping ensure that only verified users, such as analysts, security consultants and auditors, as well as software entities, can access CIPHER’s risk and threat intelligence services. By using approaches such as Self-Sovereign Identity and Decentralized Identifiers, the work supports safer collaboration between different stakeholders and reduces dependence on centralised identity providers.
The future of European cybersecurity depends on trust that can be verified, not just assumed.
- Assist. Prof. Gregory Koronakos is a Senior Researcher at IMU ICCS. He contributes to the design and development of intelligent decision-support mechanisms within the CIPHER platform. In particular, he applies multi-criteria decision-making and optimization methods to support risk-aware deployment and operation of cybersecurity services. His contributions support real-time, data-driven decision making, ensuring that cybersecurity mechanisms are both effective and adaptable to dynamic operational conditions.
Decision-support methods can contribute to more robust and adaptable digital infrastructures.
- Dr. Ioannis Patiniotakis is a Senior Researcher at ICCS. He primarily contributes to Work Package 3 (WP3). His activities focus on the extension and adaptation of the Event Management System (EMS), developed at ICCS, to support the collection, processing, and dissemination of security- and risk-related information, as well as infrastructure performance metrics, from target systems to the CIPHER platform. In addition, he provides technical support to project partners and Open Call participants in the integration and deployment of CIPHER —specifically the EMS component— within their respective infrastructures.
Efficient real-time processing of dispersed monitoring data can advance risk assessment and thereby strengthen Europe’s digital resilience!
About ICCS
The Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS) is a non-profit academic research body established in 1989 by the Ministry of Education of Greece to carry out research and development activities. Based at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), its Information Management Unit (IMU) specializes in information systems, data management, and decision support, providing high-level expertise to critical European cybersecurity initiatives like CIPHER.
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