MCTI and Embrapii announce Cybersecurity Competence Center

Knowledge generated at the Centers will point to new ways to meet future challenges imposed on the industrial sector. Initiative will receive investment of R$ 60 million from the Ministry

The research group selected to act as the Cybersecurity Competence Center belongs to the Recife Advanced Studies and Systems Center (CESAR), located in Pernambuco, and will receive R$ 60 million, originating from the IoT/Manufacturing 4.0 Priority Program (PPI) of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). The Competence Center will have accreditation lasting 42 months and will work in four thematic lines of research: Identity and Access Management; Data Protection and Privacy; Intelligence for Cyber Threats and Legal, Ethical and Behavioral Aspects. 

The announcement was made at CESAR, in Recife (PE), and was attended by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Luciana Santos, Pernambuco authorities and industry representatives. “Cybersecurity is a powerful tool to ensure the proper functioning of today's indispensable systems, such as government channels, which provide the population with digital services to facilitate citizens' access to information and procedures quickly and securely,” said the minister of MCTI. 

For the president of Embrapii, Francisco Saboya, with the increasing digitalization of industrial processes and increased connectivity, protecting systems and data against cyber threats has become a priority. “Cyber Security is not a matter of the distant future. This Competence Center is an action by Embrapii for the immediate future. A robust cybersecurity infrastructure not only protects business assets, but also promotes innovation and sustainable growth by enabling organizations to fully leverage the benefits of the digital age.” 

“The selection of CESAR as one of the management units of the Embrapii Competence Center is an important milestone in our historic journey. Since our foundation, we have always sought to transform the paths that unite scientific research and the production of knowledge, which needs to be materialized to meet the complex demands that will arise for Brazilian society. Cybersecurity is one of these demands”, assesses Eduardo Peixoto, CEO of CESAR. 

MCTI and Embrapii have already announced eight other Competence Centers in strategic areas and frontier themes: 5G and 6G Connectivity Technology and infrastructures; OpenRAN; Immersive Technologies Applied to Virtual Worlds; Electric Mobility; Digital Agriculture; Intelligent Sensing; Quantum Technologies and Advanced Therapies, with a total investment of R$ 495 million by Embrapii. Of these, R$ 480 million allocated by MCTI and R$ 15 million by the Ministry of Health. 

The model is unprecedented in the country and aims to generate knowledge and train human resources that will point out new paths to meet future challenges that will be imposed on the industrial sector, through interaction with Competence Centers of excellence and a pool of industrial companies. The initiative combines actions to expand and strengthen scientific and technological competence in RD&I; training and training of human resources for RD&I; establishes technological association with the industry and attracts and creates startups in an open innovation environment.  

Impacts in Brazil 

– Increase in Foreign Investment: improvement in the confidence of foreign investors in relation to the cybersecurity of businesses and infrastructures. 

– Stimulating the National Cybersecurity Industry: Development of technologies and companies in cybersecurity, generating jobs and stimulating innovation. This industry can then export its expertise and products, further boosting the economy. 

– Protection of National Critical Infrastructure, such as essential infrastructure of energy networks, financial systems and transport networks. 

– Cost Reduction and Improved Competitiveness of companies. 

Cybersecurity scenario 

According to a recent report from insurer Hiscox, the cybercrime scenario in 2024 reveals a worrying trend in the world: at least 46% of global companies with more than 250 employees admitted to having paid ransoms to safeguard customer data last year. Also 42% from small and medium-sized companies with less than 250 employees preferred to pay for the gangs' silence.  

In Brazil, according to research carried out by Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks), carried out in 2022, the country was the second nation most affected by cyber attacks in Latin America. There were around 103.16 billion attempted attacks, an increase of 16% compared to 2021.  

As the report points out, “Global DDoS Threat Intelligence“, Brazil suffered an increase of 19% in the number of attempted cyber attacks in the second half of 2022, compared to the first. The increase is even higher than that observed in the world average, which was 13% in the period. More than 285,000 attacks were recorded in the country during the period – around 40% of the 727,000 invasion attempts across Latin America. According to the report, the ranking is presented as follows:  

1) Brazil: 285,529

2) Colombia: 90,063

3) Argentina: 25,800

4) Ecuador: 24,540

5) Chile: 24,184

6) Mexico: 15,328

7) Peru: 14,197

8) Venezuela: 2,537 

According to the report, the main target sectors for cybercriminals in Brazil are wireless and wired telecommunications operations and data processing servers. Attention is also focused on insurance agencies and brokers and local cargo transportation companies. Furthermore, Brazil is among the five countries with the slowest progress in cybersecurity (MIT, 2022). The country scored low on all criteria, such as critical infrastructure, cybersecurity resources, organizational capacity and commitment to security policies. 

About Competence Centers 

The Embrapii Competence Centers are initiatives that create points of reference in Brazil for research in areas of frontier technologies, as well as generating knowledge in technological development in strategic themes, such as: 5G and 6G Connectivity Technology and infrastructures; OpenRAN; Immersive Technologies Applied to Virtual Worlds; Electric Mobility; Digital Agriculture; Intelligent Sensing; Quantum Technologies; Advanced Therapies and, now, Cybersecurity. 

These technologies are called emerging, where, in general, research is still carried out by a small group of countries and companies, and which will become the basis of future generations of innovative products and industrial processes. 

Check out which Embrapii Competence Centers are announced:  

1) 5G and 6G connectivity technology and infrastructures (INATEL – Santa Rita do Sapucaí/MG). Investment of R$ 60 million;

2) Open RAN (CPqD – Campinas/SP). Investment of R$ 60 million;

3) Immersive technologies applied to virtual worlds (CEIA – Federal University of Goiás – UFG). Investment of R$ 60 million.

4) Embrapii LACTEC Competence Center in Smart Grid and Electromobility – LACTEC Institute of Technology for Development (PR). Investment of R$ 58 million;

5) Embrapii Competence Center ISI Sensing in Digital Agriculture – SENAI Institute for Innovation in Sensing Systems (RS). Investment of R$ 60 million;

6) Embrapii Virtus Competence Center in Intelligent Hardware for Industry – Virtus-UFCG Center for Research, Development and Innovation in Information Technology, Communication and Automation, at the Federal University of Campina Grande (PB). Investment of R$ 60 million;

7) Advanced therapies (Sociedade Israelita Hospital Albert Einstein/SP). Investment by the Ministry of Health of R$ 15 million;

8) Quantum Technologies (Cimatec – BA). Investment of R$ 60 million; It is

9) Cybersecurity (CESAR – PE). Investment of R$ 60 million.

 

About CESAR 

CESAR is the most complete innovation and knowledge center in Brazil, which has been developing innovative solutions with cutting-edge technology for almost three decades, working together with more than 100 large companies in Brazil and around the world, in addition to having boosted in the last two years more than 500 startups. 

Headquartered in Recife, in the heart of Porto Digital, one of the main technology parks in Latin America, it operates in an integrated manner with education, business acceleration and technology to elevate organizations to a new level of competitiveness.

It is a non-profit institution dedicated to training and positively impacting people, startups and global companies, strengthening their digital strategies. Its innovation school, CESAR School, prepares students and professionals for the challenges of a constantly evolving market. In 2023, the Center also expanded its business to Europe, with headquarters in Aveiro, Portugal.

About Embrapii

Embrapii is a social organization that works in cooperation with research institutions, public or private, to serve the business sector, with the aim of fostering innovation in industry. To this end, it connects research and companies and shares risks, by contributing non-reimbursable resources to projects that lead to the introduction of new products and processes on the market. To access the model, the company must present its technological challenge to the Unit with the technical competence that fits the needs of its project. Embrapii has a management contract with the Federal Government through the Ministries of Science, Technology and Innovation, Education, Health and Development, Industry, Commerce and Services.