Airbus and Atos awarded major cyber security contract to protect key EU institutions

Airbus Defence and Space, through its Airbus CyberSecurity unit and partnering with Atos as coprime entity, have been selected by the Council of the European Union to provide cyber security expertise, products, services and solutions to help protect the IT systems of 17 European institutions, services and agencies.

This framework contract makes the consortium, in which Airbus Defence and Space acts as the lead company, the preferred provider of cyber security solutions for key European institutions for a minimum period of six years.

European institutions will be able to implement a co-ordinated and upgraded cyber protection solution for all 17 entities, which include automated surveillance, warning, detection and response, training, and studies to develop a cyber security roadmap to tackle future cyber threats.

“This is a landmark agreement for us in the area of cyber security. The EU’s decision to award Airbus CyberSecurity such a critical cyber protection contract is a strong endorsement of our capability and expertise. Cyber Security is a growing area of concern for many institutions in the era of digitalisation”, said Dirk Hoke, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space.

Pierre Barnabé, Chief Operating Officer for Big Data & Security at Atos, added: “This is a key step forward in our strategic partnership with Airbus Defence and Space to protect such vital organisations, while enabling Europe to develop a European Cyber Defence strategy.”

The experts from the consortium will provide on-site threat analysis for the European authorities and response schemes to attacks, enabling them to respond to these risks.

In addition, the consortium will be responsible for raising the awareness of all European institution employees to cyber threats and provide cyber security training courses.