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Horizon Europe · European Union

Impact of malicious use of Open-Source Intelligence on critical infrastructure business continuity

Opens 5 May 2027

The EU's Horizon Europe programme expects to make 2 awards of €3.84 million each, from a total budget of €7.67 million. Applications close on 4 Nov 2027 (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time). Organisations in EU member states and Horizon Europe associated countries such as Türkiye can usually take part; the topic conditions control.

Expected outcome

Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following outcomes:

• Critical infrastructure operators and authorities have improved awareness of Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) and their potential impact on security of their operations;

• Toolbox for OSINT mapping, including enhanced analysis and risk flagging is developed and available to relevant stakeholders;

• Critical infrastructure operators and authorities have improved incident response, emergency plans and business continuity models;

• Removal of potentially harmful OSINT from the public domain in order to counter/prevent preparations and attempted attacks against critical entities, including the lone wolf and hybrid scenarios;

• Awareness campaigns and training curricula for critical entities’ employees are developed.

Scope

The malicious use of Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) is a known concern and technique used by offenders to retrieve personal, professional, and official or technical information about entities and their employees either to immediately plot illegal actions or use it to access more sensitive data with social engineering techniques like tailored data phishing. Although singular information may seem harmless, their critical mass coupled with reasoning and automated processing of large data blocks, could reveal critical vulnerabilities and possible attack vectors. This modus operandi is of special concern for critical infrastructure operators and authorities, as it can be used to aggregate sensitive information, identify potential protection gaps, discover the security measures, such as camera and sensor locations or target individuals with special access privileges in order to orchestrate more sophisticated and harmful attacks. OSINT can also be used to impede critical infrastructure operations indirectly, gathering information and affecting their supply chains.

Who can apply

Consortium of at least 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or associated countries, at least one in a Member State (Horizon Europe standard rule).

Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.

Topics

Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Incident Response Operators of critical infrastructure Security Awareness campaigns OSINT Tag Action Open-Source Intelligence critical entities critical infrastructure emergency plans and business continuity models lone wolf and hybrid scenarios security training curricula

Timing

Single-stage call. Next deadline 2027-11-04. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).

How to apply

1. Read the full topic on the Funding & Tenders Portal: expected outcome, scope, type of action and the topic conditions, including any country restrictions.
2. Register each participating organisation in the Funding & Tenders Portal to get a PIC.
3. Consortium of at least 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or associated countries (Horizon Europe standard rule; Türkiye is associated). Confirm in the topic conditions.
4. Prepare Part A (administrative forms and budget, completed in the portal) and Part B (the technical description on the official template for this type of action).
5. Submit in the portal before the cut-off time on the deadline day. Late submissions are not accepted.

From the call text

Who can apply

Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Company stage

Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Single applicant or consortium

Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Where applicants must be based

Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Where to apply

Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Read the EU application guide

Where these facts come from

Official sources

Official call page

Facts on this page come from the funder’s official data, taken on 14 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.

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