ADVANCES

Final project conference: ‘Stronger Together - Collaboration in Building Cyber Resilience’

Activities

Date: December 7, 2023

Location: Vilnius University Scholarly Communication and Information Center, Vilnius, Lithuania

The ADVANCES team organised the conference ‘Stronger Together - Collaboration in Building Cyber Resilience’, which was the projects final event. The event took place in the Scholarly Communication and Information Center of Vilnius University.

The conference programme included several inspiring and awareness-raising presentations. The keynote speaker reviewed the lifelong journey of cyber resilience. The project partners presented the multidisciplinary cybersecurity approach and insights into the project results. The conference ended with an engaging panel discussion about cybersecurity education where the experts - project team members and stakeholders - shared their opinions.

The conference ended the three-year project ADVANCES, which was implemented by eight international partners and made the basis for further collaboration activities in research and education.

Presentation of the ADVANCES project at the Baltic Research Programme’s Mid-Term Conference

Activities

Date: October 18-19, 2023

Location: Riga, Latvia

The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia in Cooperation with the Latvian Council of Science, Lithuania, and Estonia organized the Baltic Research Programme’s Mid-Term Conference ‘Collaborative Experiences: Shaping the Research Future.’ The purpose of the event was to discuss the current results of the programme considering calls from all the Baltic countries. The researchers and stakeholders from the beneficiary and donor countries met, shared experiences, and discussed the future of the programme.

ADVANCES leader dr. A. Brilingaitė represented the projects funded via the Programme’s call in Lithuania. The first day of the event was dedicated to visiting projects funded via the Latvian call. Dr. R. Pirta-Dreimane from RTU joined the event too and together with A. Brilingaitė visited projects coordinated by the University of Latvia. On the second day of the event, A. Brilingaitė presented the ADVANCES project in a 7-minute talk and participated in the panel discussion ‘The Programme Through the Project Lens.’ She emphasized that the ADVANCES team as a unit is more visible around the globe in the research community than each of the partner separately. And it is a value of the project collaboration considering the region-based financial mechanism - as the EEA slogan says: ‘Working together for a competitive Europe.’

Presentation of the ADVANCES paper at the 25th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction

Activities

Date: July 23-28, 2023

Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Dr. Rūta Pirta-Dreimane presented the project paper on 25th International Conference on. Human-Computer Interaction (HCII2023), in Copenhagen, Denmark, 23-28 July 2023. Other ADVANCES participants, K. Parish, S. Sütterlin, and B. J. Knox, also participated in the event that attracted more than 2,000 participants from more than 70 countries.

The co-authors from Latvia, Lithuania, and Norway published the project results on proposed educational approach CyberEscape to advancing hard and soft skills in cybersecurity education. The paper is included in the conference proceedings HCII2023.

Presentation of the ADVANCES paper at the 22nd European conference on cyber warfare and security

Activities

Date: 2023-06-23

Location: Athens, Greece

Cpt. Aleksandaras Melnikovas, a Chief Methodologist from the Military Academy of Lithuania, presented the project paper at the 22nd European Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security (ECCWS) hosted by the Hellenic Air Force Academy and the University of Piraeus in Greece, 22-23 June 2023. ECCWS gathered participants from 26 countries, and the scope of the presented papers ensured a comprehensive and engaging conference, addressing a wide range of contemporary cybersecurity issues.

The co-authors from Lithuania, Estonia, and Norway published the project results on teaching pentesting to social sciences students to improve attitudes towards possible cybersecurity careers. The paper addressed the issue of a lack of cybersecurity personnel and elaborated on methodological and practical considerations for attracting students with no prior IT experience to the domain of cybersecurity by engaging in educational activities and experiential learning, thereby raising their awareness and encouraging them to consider this field as a potential career option. The paper is included in the conference proceedings ECCWS.

Presentation of the ADVANCES project at 35th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering

Activities

Date: June 12-16, 2023

Location: Zaragoza, Spain

Dr.sc.ing. Ginta Majore from Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences presented the project paper at the 35th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering (CAiSE 2023), in Zaragosa, Spain, June 12-16, 2023. The paper was presented during the Project Exhibition Session, which attracted over 60 people. Project Exhibition Session allowed the paper co-author to share ADVANCES research project results with a global audience, connect with fellow researchers, and gain valuable insights into the latest advancements in the field. Participants and organisers were interested in collaborating on further projects and ideas. Ideas were shared among the more than 3500 participants from the conference during other sessions and a poster session. The conference brought together professionals worldwide to discuss and share experiences and advancements in Information Systems Engineering. The special focus of this year was a theme of Cyber-Human systems. Research and innovative solutions in the field were presented during the five days of the conference. Attendees exchanged ideas and insights, fostering collaboration and driving progress in this ever-evolving research area.

The co-authors from Latvia, Lithuania, and Norway published the project results as a research paper in CAiSE conference. The paper is included in the CEUR Workshop Proceedings, published along with the conference.

ADVANCES represented at the Baltic Security Conference

Activities

Date: April 27, 2023

Location: Riga, Latvia

Mairita Zaķe from ViA with an ADVANCES poster participated in the exhibition section at the Baltic Security Conference 2023 organized by the Association of Security Professionals on April 27, 2023, in the ATTA Center, in Riga. This professional security event brought together Baltic and European security professionals from four security disciplines - physical and technical security, cyber security and information security, occupational safety and well-being, as well as fire safety and civil protection. Alongside the conference, there was a professional exhibition, where visitors were able to see the latest products and services on the Baltic security market from leading European and Baltic security companies.

The event, largest security event in the Baltics, attracts more than 500 security leaders and professionals and 2,000 participants. The organizers - The Association of Security Professionals is an association of specialists working in the Latvian security industry, which unites professionals in the field and represents their interests.

Project presentation for the Committee of the Baltic Research Programme

Activities

Date: September 27, 2022

Location: VU Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vilnius, Lithuania

The Programme Committee of the Baltic Research Programme hold the meeting in Vilnius and visited projects from the Lithuanian call. Two projects promoted by Vilnius University had the meeting with the Committee at the Faculty of Ecnomics and Business Administration. A. Brilingaitė made the presentation as a project leader and answered questions from the audience that also included observers. G. Majore (ViA), L. Bukauskas (VU), A. Juozapavičius (MIL), S. Sütterlin (ØUC), R. G. Lugo (ØUC), and O. Maennel (TalTech) participated in the event too.

Presentation of the ADVANCES paper at the 15th international conference of Augmented Cognition, held as part of the 23rd HCI international conference

Activities

Date: July 24-29, 2021

Location: Virtual event

Senior researcher assoc. prof. Laima Ambrozaitytė, PhD has outlined the main points from the published paper in the virtual presentation. The introduction to the multifactorial genetics principles and heritability processes, stressing the interdisciplinary efforts to integrate all the differect characteristics for a cyber-professional. Targets of precision phenotyping and genotyping have been addressed, with an example of impulsivity. Specific focus been made on the risk evaluation using the polygenic risk scores. And the main challenges for the inclusion of genomic markers noted.

The authors from Vilnius University (the project promoters) overviewed the contribution of the behavioural genetics aspects to the development of personality and the genetic and environmental covariance with a range of characteristics, as well as stress, impulsiveness, and addiction; as well as the inclusion for the characteristics of the cyberspecialist. The paper is included in the conference proceedings AC.

Project promotional video

Activities

Date: June 14, 2021

Location: Repost from Facebook EEE grants

Over the year alone, the number of registered cyber incidents has increased by a quarter, from 3,241 cyber incidents in 2019 to 4,330 incidents in 2020. The need for highly qualified cybersecurity professionals is evident in all countries of the world. The Baltic region countries, which are in a unique geopolitical environment, are the top priority of cybersecurity, and cybercrime can make up all sectors of the economy.

The project ADVANCES: ‘Advancing Human Performance in Cybersecurity’ is funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanisms Fund, and developing a scientific methodology and expanding the circle of cybersecurity specialists.

Press release of the project

Activities

Date: February 26, 2021

Location: Vilnius University News

Highly skilled cybersecurity specialists are in demand all over the world. In more than 90% of cyber incidents an individual is either an indirect perpetrator of a cybercrime (a victim) or a specialist who protects infrastructures and has sufficient subject-related and generic competences. There has been little research to properly measure the importance of personal traits and their role in the cyber kill chain.

The project ADVANCES, which aims to improve the performance of cybersecurity specialists, will bring together scientists of Vilnius University (VU), General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Østfold University College, Riga Technical University, Tallinn University of Technology, the University of Liechtenstein, and Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences. Researchers will analyse the human biological system and people’s behavioural habits and will assess the skills and expertise of cybersecurity specialists involved in the project.

Continue reading on Vilnius University News Website in English version or Lithuanian version

Webinar: Cybersecurity Research

Activities

Date: February 18, 2021

Location: Repost from Baltisch-Deutsches Hocshschul Kontor website

The online webinar “Cybersecurity Research” with a lecture “Cybersecurity Research in the Face of Powerful Adversaries” by prof. Dr. Thorsten Holz (Ruhr University Bochum), a presentation “Critical Infrastructure Protection: An Aviation Cybersecurity Perspective” by prof. Dr. Olaf Manuel Maennel (Tallinn University of Technology) and a presentation “Multi-Dimensional Perspective into Cybersecurity” by assoc. prof. Dr. Linas Bukauskas (Vilnius University) was organised by the Baltic-German Liaison Office. It is the first projetc dissemination activity outside the university.

Video is available on Facebook post.

The event was organized in cooperation with the Rotary Club Bochum-Rechen.

Final project meeting in Vilnius

Meetings

Date: December 6, 2023

Location: Vilnius, Lithuania

Project participants gathered for the final project meeting in Vilnius on December 6th. The meeting was allocated to the final project conference, a public event for the community and society.

The project team discussed the yet-to-be-implemented tasks and preparation for the final reporting. Moreover, the partners discussed further collaboration possibilities on research and study activities. The team travelled to Vilnius Centre on the university bus during lunch. The guide toured the team on the Old University campus. After returning from the city, the team had a preparation session for the big event - the final project conference.

Project team meets in Tallinn to approach stakeholders and review tasks

Meetings

Date: October 27, 2023

Location: Tallinn, Estonia

Representatives of the project partners met for one of the last meetings in Tallinn on October 27th. The team had an intensive one-day workshop associated with a public hybrid event announced in advance.

The morning part was dedicated to the project dissemination for stakeholders from academia, industry, and the public sector. The partners presented the project results and challenged participants to discuss vital cybersecurity topics, including early education and sector differences.

The team had a workshop in the afternoon to review the remaining project tasks. Firstly, the partners discussed the updates for the project communication plan. Also, they reviewed the status of the key performance indicators. Finally, the workshop had a particular focus on the preparation for the final project conference to be held in December in Vilnius.

Project meeting in Norway at NTNU

Meetings

Date: September 18-19, 2023

Location: Gjøvik, NTNU

Project participant from Vilnius University, General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, Riga Technical University, Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences, Tallinn University of Technology, Østfold University College and NTNU gathered for a two-day working meeting at NTNU, Gjøvik.

Day 1 included a project and partner status update. We had a presentation by Muaan Ur Rehman followed by discussions on the direction of the paper. We also had a presentation by Ingrida Domarkienė and Laima Ambrozaitytė followed by a discussion on the direction of the multidisciplinary research. In the evening, we enjoyed social time together at Indian dining, where we enjoyed the opportunity for team building and further discussion.

On day 2, we had a tour of the Norwegian Cyber Range (NCR) and a presentation by Espen Torseth and Benjamin J. Knox with a discussion of the potential and challenges of the NCR. Time was then allocated for work on the project. In the evening, we enjoyed social time together at 37 Eatery, where we had the opportunity for team building and further discussion.

Project meeting at the University of Liechtenstein

Meetings

Date: July 11-12, 2023

Location: Vaduz, Liechtenstein

Representatives from Vilnius University, General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences, Riga Technical University, Tallinn University of Technology, Østfold University College, and the University of Liechtenstein gathered for a project meeting held at the University of Liechtenstein, Vaduz, Liechtenstein. The meeting took place over two days and included a scientific experiment, presentations, and scientific discussions.

On July 11, the participants arrived at the meeting location and engaged in a general project status discussion. Later, Dr. Agnė Brilingaitė presented the project to AIBA, the funding agency responsible for the project. Afterward, the stress experiment was conducted which was led by Dr. Irdin Pekaric. The experiment involved measuring participants’ heart rate while solving different cybersecurity exercises to determine stress levels. The day concluded with further scientific discussions and a hybrid session. On July 12, the participants engaged in sightseeing and informal discussions. Finally, a project planning and a wrap-up session was held in which the further steps were discussed.

Overall, the meeting provided an opportunity for productive discussions, project updates, and scientific exploration in a collaborative and engaging environment. Dissemination activity was also implemented on the website of the University of Liechtenstein.

One-day workshop in Tallinn

Meetings

Date: March 10, 2023

Location: Tallinn, Estonia

Dr. Tiia Sõmer and PhD student Muaan Ur Rehman joined the TalTech team within ADVANCES at the beginning of the year as prof. O. Maennel and dr. K. Maennel got positions in Australia, University of Adelaide. Thus, in Tallinn, a small workshop was organised to have a team building event and discuss the responsibilities of the partners. Representatives of TalTech, RTU, VU, ViA, and ØUC had an intensive one-day workshop to set up the next steps in the project activities and share the knowledge with new members. TalTech confirmed the intentions to organise the event for stakeholders in summer or early autumn.

Project meeting at the Military Academy of Lithuania

Meetings

Date: February 8-9, 2023

Location: General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, Vilnius

Project participants from all partner institutions gathered for a two-day working meeting at the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania in Vilnius. As usual, on the first day a lot of attention was dedicated to research articles that are currently in progress, participants split into 3 working groups according to the research they were doing. The breaks between the intensive sessions were occupied by fun physical activities kindly presented by the Academy, including the training in their shooting range.

The second day was mostly occupied by generating new ideas for the last half-year of the project and beyond. Possible research topics, such as competencies related to cyber protection teams that are sent out to war zones or as a help to civilian infrastructures, or obtaining Red team data and comparing red-teamers with blue-teamers were discussed. Researchers from Liechtenstein University suggested a stress-measurement technique to be used during intensive cyber-exercises, and it was decided to follow up on the idea during the next live meeting in Liechtenstein.

Project meeting at TalTech Centre for Digital Forensics and Cyber Security

Meetings

Date: December 8-9, 2022

Location: Tallinn, Estonia

At the beginning of December, the ADVANCES team met in Tallinn to discuss the year’s results and prepare for the last project implementation year.

R. Pirta-Dreimane presented the CyberEscape room activity as a gamified approach to increase security awareness and interest in the cybersecurity field. K. Maennel from TalTech presented the reviewers’ feedback on the joint paper about the emotional, social, and cognitive aspects of cyber defence exercises. The team actively discussed directions to improve the paper and to consider reviewers’ comments. Moreover, Aušrius Juozapavičius from the Military Academy of Lithuania initiated the discussion about the paper for submission to the European Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security. The team had good experimental results showing the involvement of social science students in rather technical penetration testing activities.

After a long and busy first day, the team visited a Christmas market in Tallinn’s old town before having a nice dinner. During a visit, TalTech initiated dissemination activities via social networks. Thus, the team had a photo session as a little break between active sessions of planning the next meetings and brainstorming on the research activities.

Project meeting on a multidisciplinary framework at Vilnius University

Meetings

Date: October 27-28, 2022

Location: Vilnius, Lithuania

The ADVANCES members gathered for a two-day workshop on the multi-disciplinary framework in Vilnius just before Halloween on October 27-28th. The main goal of the meeting was to finalize the preparation for the framework testing with actual participants. The team discussed various challenges and steps like data collection, interpretation, and invitation to participate. The data collection includes blood sampling and genotyping. Thus, it cannot be repeated.

The framework’s architecture consists of several layers: ICT-related competence testing, self-reporting about personality traits, and genotyping. The team has received permission from the BioEthical Committee to execute the experiment, and the questionnaire was prepared last year. The skill testing module needs to be implemented, and the team discussed how the European Cybersecurity Skill Framework could be integrated to profile participants.

The team had energy-full discussions at the table and with a cup of coffee and light snacks during the breaks. On the evening of the first day, the team had a social event, dinner in Vilnius downtown.

Project meeting at Riga Technical University

Meetings

Date: July 6-7, 2022

Location: Riga, Latvia

Representatives from Vilnius University, General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences, Tallinn University of Technology, and Østfold University College came together for a two-day working meeting, along with a stakeholder event held at Riga Technical university (RTU) in Riga.

The first part of Day 1 included a project and partner status update. Afterwards, the stakeholders meeting ‘Afternoon Cyber Tea with Academia and Practitioners’ was hold. The main project results were presented and discussed with stakeholders. Dr. Agnė Brilingaitė introduced stakeholders with the project goals. Dr. Ingrida Domarkienė presented topic ‘CyberGenomics: Application of Behavioral Genetics in Cybersecurity’, dr. Ricardo Gregorio Lugo presented topic on ‘Psychological Profiling of Cybersecurity Operators and Users’, and dr. Rūta Pirta-Dreimane introduced stakeholders with the topic ‘Cybersecurity Education Design’. The presentations were followed by informal discussions with a cup of tea. The event was attended by representatives from industry, government bodies, and academia.

On Day 2, we had a tour of the Design Factory of RTU. Time was then allocated for work on the project papers and work packages tasks planning.

Project workshop at Østfold University College in Norway

Meetings

Date: June 20-21, 2022

Location: Fredrikstad, Norway

Project participants from Vilnius University, General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, NTNU and Østfold University College gathered for a two-day project workshop at Østfold University College. Day 1 included a project status update, partner status update and planning of future work including publications. Work was also focussed on WPs 2 and 8 with the preparation of an article that connects CS-relevant features from the human genome, behaviour and technology areas. Breaks between the intensive sessions included a tour of the old city of Fredrikstad, a ferry ride, and a meal together. Day 2 was again focussed on WPs 2 and 8 with continued work on the article that connects CS-relevant features from the human genome, behaviour and technology areas.

Project meeting at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences in Latvia

Meetings

Date: February 7-8, 2022

Location: Valmiera, Latvia

On February 7-8, 2022, a partially face-to-face, partially remote meeting of project stakeholders was held. During the meeting, in addition to discussions about project status, timeline, and WP status, a project idea and goal modeling session was held. The 4EM methodology was used for the modeling session. 4EM (for enterprise modeling) is an enterprise modeling method that offers a modeling language covering the different perspectives in conjunction with guidelines for the modeling process, strong stakeholder participation, and a project-based approach to conducting enterprise modeling. As a result of the modeling session, the stakeholders reached a common consensus on the methodology of WP4.

Additionally, prof. A. Juozapavičius from the Military Academy of Lithuania participated in the filming session for a video dedicated to ADVANCES, in the series ‘Science Up Close’. The released video also contains a moderator discussion with dr. R. Pirta-Dreimane, ADVANCES researcher from Riga Technical University.

Workshop on planning investigation of the cybersecurity-related features for a multidisciplinary framework

Meetings

Date: October 14-15, 2021

Location: Tallinn, Estonia

Partners from Latvia and Lithuania visited the TalTech team for a two-day workshop on the planning investigation of the cybersecurity-related features for a multidisciplinary framework. Due to travel restrictions, the TalTech members could not attend the face-to-face meeting in Vilnius in September. Thus, A. Brilingaitė (VU), L. Bukauskas (VU), A. Juozapavičius (MIL), A. Melnikovas (MIL), and G. Majore (ViA) organised the trip to meet Estonian partners, K. Maennel and O. Maennel, and discuss the tasks of the work packages. The workshop was organised in a hybrid way to ensure the participation of the Norwegian partners.

TalTech leads package WP2 on the property investigation, and ViA leads a closely related package WP4 - Methodology. The team decided to prepare a paper for the IT community on performance evaluation during the cyber defence exercises. The evaluation and training processes should go beyond technological skills and include psychological features. At the end of the first day, the team visited the city and enjoyed time together, socialising with an evening meal downtown.

First onsite project meeting

Meetings

Date: September 16-17, 2021

Location: Vilnius, Lithuania

Project participants from all partner institutions gathered for a two-day working meeting at Vilnius University. This was the first face-to-face meeting, and Day 1 was mostly occupied with introductions, a project status update, partner status update and planning of future work, including scientific publications to achieve the project’s KPIs. Breaks between the intensive sessions included a tour of the Vilnius University facilities and a meal together. On Day 2, the meetings focussed mostly on work package planning and with a particular focus on WP4 - Methodology.

Due to COVID-19, the project was started using online communication technologies. Meeting in Vilnius was the first gathering and meeting face-to-face, and the participants enjoyed time together and team building and socialization activities.

Project ADVANCES has been launched! The first gathering is … online

Meetings

Date: January 27, 2021

Location: Virtual event

Project ADVANCES officially started on January 1st! The team members from eight partners representing five countries, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Norway, and Liechtenstein, have initiated project activities to investigate human behaviour in cybersecurity by combining research areas of computer science, psychology, and human genomics. The team aims to advance the performance of the cybersecurity specialist.

Mobility activities are limited due to the COVID-19. However, the team collaborates using various remote platforms for communication and information sharing. The first gathering was on January 27th to form the groups related to work packages. The geneticist team of Vilnius University will lead the first work group to prepare the psychological questionnaire that will be used to find associations with genetic and ICT data.