COMPACT · Project

Affordable Cybersecurity Platform Built for Local Government Offices Without IT Teams

digitalPilotedTRL 7

Local government offices — the ones handling your building permits, tax records, and health data — are prime targets for hackers, but most of them can barely afford a dedicated IT person, let alone a cybersecurity team. COMPACT built an all-in-one security platform that even non-technical staff can use: it monitors threats in real time, trains employees through games, assesses risks, and lets municipalities share threat intelligence with each other. Think of it as a security alarm system for city halls that practically runs itself and was tested across 5 real government offices in 4 European countries.

By the numbers

Real-world use cases for validation

European countries where platform was tested

90%

Of solutions targeting TRL7

Types of integrated tools/services (risk assessment, education, monitoring, knowledge sharing)

Consortium partners

Countries represented in consortium

Total project deliverables

The business problem

What needed solving

Local government offices handle sensitive citizen data — tax records, health information, permits — but most lack the budget and expertise for proper cybersecurity. They face growing threats from ransomware and data breaches while simultaneously needing to comply with regulations like ISO 27001, creating a gap that off-the-shelf enterprise security products are too expensive and complex to fill.

The solution

What was built

An integrated cybersecurity platform with 4 core modules: real-time security monitoring, gamification-based security awareness training, automated risk assessment, and a knowledge-sharing network for municipalities. The platform was validated through 5 pilot deployments across 4 European countries, with 33 deliverables produced including a technological review and trial setup documentation.

Audience

Who needs this

Managed security service providers (MSSPs) targeting the public sectorMunicipal IT shared service centers managing security for multiple townsGovTech companies building compliance automation toolsCybersecurity training companies wanting gamification-based modulesEU-funded smart city projects needing security components

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Cybersecurity services

SME

Target: Managed security service providers (MSSPs) serving the public sector

If you are an MSSP looking to expand into the public sector market — this project developed an integrated platform with 4 tool categories (risk assessment, education, monitoring, knowledge sharing) designed specifically for non-IT experts in local government. It was validated across 5 use cases in 4 countries and targets ISO/IEC 27001 compliance, giving you a ready-made product to white-label or resell to municipalities.

Local government IT

any

Target: Municipal IT departments or shared service centers

If you are a municipal shared service center struggling to protect dozens of small town halls with limited budgets — this project built a cloud-ready platform that automates security monitoring and risk assessment for non-technical staff. It was tested with 5 real local public administration users and uses gamification to train employees, reducing your dependency on expensive cybersecurity consultants.

GovTech / RegTech

mid-size

Target: Software companies building compliance tools for government

If you are a GovTech company helping public bodies meet regulatory requirements — this project created tools that guide local administrations through a Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle toward EN ISO/IEC 27001 and BS ISO/IEC 27005 compliance. With 90% of its solutions reaching TRL7 and validation across 4 European countries, it offers a compliance engine you could integrate into your existing product suite.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to deploy this platform in a municipality?

The project data does not include pricing or deployment cost figures. However, the platform was specifically designed to be affordable for local public administrations with budget constraints, using cloud-ready deployment and automation to minimize the need for dedicated IT staff.

Can this scale beyond a single city to serve regional or national government networks?

The platform includes a knowledge-sharing module designed for information exchange between European local public administrations, suggesting built-in multi-site capability. It was validated across 5 use cases in 4 European countries, demonstrating cross-border scalability. Cloud-ready deployment further supports scaling.

What is the IP situation — can we license or resell this technology?

The project was coordinated by Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SPA, a major Italian IT company, with 17 consortium partners across 8 countries. Licensing terms would need to be negotiated with the consortium. The platform was designed to interoperate with market solutions from major vendors, suggesting an open integration approach.

Does this help with regulatory compliance like NIS2 or ISO 27001?

Yes — the platform explicitly targets compliance with EN ISO/IEC 27001 and BS ISO/IEC 27005 through a structured Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle. This iterative approach helps local administrations systematically remove security bottlenecks and document their compliance posture.

How mature is this technology — is it ready to deploy today?

The project stated that 90% of COMPACT solutions would achieve TRL7 (system prototype demonstrated in operational environment) with the remainder at TRL6. The project ended in October 2019, and validation was completed across 5 real use cases. Current deployment status would need to be confirmed with the coordinator.

Can this integrate with our existing security tools?

The platform was specifically designed to interoperate with market solutions from major vendors, protecting existing IT investments. It is both cloud-enabled (addresses cloud-specific security issues) and cloud-ready (can be deployed on the cloud if users choose).

Do we need cybersecurity experts to operate this?

No — a core design goal was high usability by non-IT experts. The platform uses automation and gamification-based training to enable regular municipal employees to participate in cybersecurity improvement without specialized technical skills.

Consortium

Who built it

The 17-partner consortium across 8 countries is well-balanced for commercialization: 6 industry partners (35% ratio) including the coordinator Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SPA — one of Italy's largest IT companies — provide serious go-to-market muscle. The 3 SMEs add agility, while 2 universities and 3 research organizations contributed the technical depth. The 6 "other" partners likely include the local public administration end-users who served as pilot sites. Geographic spread across AT, BE, CY, DE, ES, IT, PT, and UK means the platform was tested against diverse regulatory environments and administrative structures, which is a strong selling point for any buyer considering pan-European deployment.

ENGINEERING - INGEGNERIA INFORMATICA SPACoordinator · IT
CYBER RANGES LTDparticipant · CY
COMUNE DI BOLOGNAparticipant · IT
AIT AUSTRIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY GMBHparticipant · AT
KASPERSKY LAB ITALIA SRLparticipant · IT
DIREZIONE GENERALE PER LE TECNOLOGIE DELLE COMUNICAZIONI E LA SICUREZZA INFORMATICA - ISTITUTO SUPERIORE DELLE COMUNICAZIONI E DELLE TECNOLOGIE DELL'INFORMAZIONEparticipant · IT
KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVENparticipant · BE
GRUPO S 21SEC GESTION SAparticipant · ES
INOV INSTITUTO DE ENGENHARIA DE SISTEMAS E COMPUTADORES INOVACAOparticipant · PT
CONSORZIO INTERUNIVERSITARIO NAZIONALE PER L'INFORMATICAparticipant · IT

How to reach the team

Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SPA (Italy) — a major publicly traded IT services company. Contact their cybersecurity or public sector division.

Order a report on this consortium See ENGINEERING - INGEGNERIA INFORMATICA SPA profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want an introduction to the COMPACT team to discuss licensing, integration, or pilot deployment? SciTransfer can arrange a direct meeting with the right technical contacts.

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