20 May 2026
Four ambitious new projects in cybersecurity, digital trust, and secure AI communication have just received funding as part of the Next Generation Cyber Security partnership.
The new projects address some of the most important challenges in our digital everyday lives: ensuring trust in online information, detecting payment fraud before it causes damage, and securing digital communication in government, defense, and other critical infrastructure — including in a future with quantum computing.
A key principle behind the initiative is that the projects must be grounded in the real-world cybersecurity challenges faced by Danish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and that their results must be translated into practical, deployable solutions for industry.
The initiative is a collaboration between Digital Research Centre Denmark (DIREC), National Defence Technology Center, Security Tech Space, and The Danish Industry Foundation working together to bring cutting-edge cybersecurity research closer to Danish SMEs.
This project develops new cryptographic transparency logs that make digital content verifiable and tamper-resistant, while also safe-guarding user privacy and the right to be forgotten. The goal is to strengthen trust in digital information in an era increasingly shaped by AI-generated content and misinformation.
Partners: InReality, IT University of Copenhagen (ITU)
This project targets organized payment fraud by analyzing transactions as interconnected networks rather than isolated events. Using graph-based methods, the system aims to detect coordinated fraud in real time and enhances the security of Nordic payment infrastructure.
Partners: Kynapse Technologies, Vipps MobilePay, Aarhus University
The project strengthens secure group communication by providing formally verified security for the international MLS standard. It focuses on high-assurance cryptography, post-quantum security, and applications in government, defense, and other critical environments.
Partners: Cryspen, Confiware, Aarhus University
SecMAS focuses on securing communication between AI agents by introducing explicit trust boundaries, authorization mechanisms, and auditable delegation. The aim is to make agent-based AI systems safe enough for deployment in high-risk and cybersecurity-critical environments.
Partners: ColleaiQ, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
“Danish companies — including SMEs — play a crucial role in defending Denmark and Danish industry against future cyber threats and attacks. That is why collaboration between research and industry must be strengthened, ensuring companies gain access to valuable knowledge, expertise, and technology. That is exactly what we are doing here in a concrete and practice-oriented way.”
– Malene Stidsen, Program Director at The Danish Industry Foundation
“Cybersecurity research can make a difference for the many SMEs in Denmark by helping them develop unique technologies that can provide competitive advantages and support future growth. These projects directly address challenges we encounter every day — such as payment fraud, manipulation of digital information, and the need for secure communication — and I look forward to following their progress and impact in industry.”
– Thomas Riisgaard Hansen, Director, Digital Research Centre Denmark
“These are smaller, highly focused projects that test how new knowledge can be brought closer to the concrete needs of Danish SMEs. For us, it is about bridging research and application — and creating solutions that can scale and make a tangible difference to companies’ cybersecurity.”
– Peer Heldgaard Kristensen, Director, Security Tech Space
“These projects translate some of the most advanced cyber threats facing Denmark into practical solutions that SMEs can also apply. This is critical, because society’s digital resilience does not depend only on the state and critical authorities, but also on the companies across the value chains. If Denmark is to become more resilient in an increasingly uncertain world, we must raise the overall level of cybersecurity. We are only as strong as our weakest link.”
– Jeffrey Scott Saunders, Chief Technology Officer, National Defence Technology Center
The four new projects were selected by an independent advisory board of experienced experts from research, industry, and cybersecurity.
The Next Generation Cyber Security partnership is part of the Danish Industry Foundation’s broader cybersecurity initiative, supported with nearly DKK 12 million from the foundation plus an additional DKK 3 million from both Digital Research Centre Denmark and the National Defence Technology Center.
