Imagine trying to sell car insurance but nobody knows how many accidents actually happen — that's the state of cyber insurance today. CYBECO built a toolbox that combines psychology (how people actually make security decisions) with game theory and statistics to help insurance companies figure out the real risk of a cyberattack. Think of it as a calculator that finally puts a realistic price tag on digital threats, so insurers can write policies and businesses can decide what coverage makes sense for them.
Cyber insurance is one of the fastest-growing segments in the insurance industry, yet most insurers struggle to price policies accurately because there isn't enough historical data on cyberattacks, and human behaviour around security is unpredictable. Companies buying cyber insurance face a similar problem — they can't tell whether a policy is worth the premium or if they'd be better off investing in internal defences.
CYBECO produced a prototype software toolbox (CYBECO Prototype 1.0) that combines behavioural economics models, game theory, and statistical risk analysis to help price and evaluate cyberinsurance options. Across 20 deliverables, the project also generated behavioural experiment results on how people actually make cybersecurity decisions, along with policy recommendations on using behavioural nudges to improve security outcomes.
If you are a cyber insurance provider struggling to price policies because historical attack data is scarce — CYBECO developed a prototype toolbox that models cyber risk using behavioural economics and game theory. It helps you move from guesswork to data-driven underwriting. The project ran with 7 partners across 6 countries and produced 20 deliverables focused on making cyberinsurance viable.
If you are a financial institution trying to decide how much to invest in cyber insurance versus internal security — CYBECO created decision-support models based on behavioural psychology that show how your employees actually respond to threats. This lets you allocate your security budget where it matters most, backed by experimental validation rather than vendor sales pitches.
If you are a cybersecurity consultancy advising clients on risk transfer options — CYBECO built a prototype software platform that integrates statistical risk models with behavioural nudge insights. You could embed these models into your advisory services to give clients concrete, evidence-based recommendations on cyberinsurance coverage.
The project has not published commercial pricing. CYBECO was funded with EUR 1,983,510 in EU contribution and produced a prototype (CYBECO Prototype 1.0). Licensing terms would need to be negotiated directly with the coordinator, TREK, a Greek SME.
The CYBECO Prototype 1.0 demonstrated the concept but was built as a research prototype, not a production-grade platform. Scaling to handle enterprise-level insurance portfolios would likely require further engineering. The 57% industry ratio in the consortium suggests commercial applicability was a design goal.
IP is distributed among the 7 consortium partners across 6 countries, governed by the Horizon 2020 grant agreement. The coordinator TREK (Greece, SME) would be the first point of contact for licensing discussions. Specific IP allocation details would need to be confirmed with the consortium.
CYBECO explicitly aimed to provide policy insights and validate institutional cybersecurity practices through behavioural experiments. The project addressed the regulatory gap in cyberinsurance but specific compliance certifications are not documented in the available data.
Based on available project data, CYBECO produced a prototype toolbox (version 1.0) with 20 deliverables over a 2-year project period (2017-2019). Integration timelines would depend on your current infrastructure and the level of customization needed. The prototype would likely need adaptation for production use.
The project officially ended in April 2019. Continued development depends on whether consortium members have pursued commercial exploitation. The project website (cybeco.eu) and the coordinator TREK would be the best sources for current status.
The CYBECO consortium brings a strong industry orientation with 4 out of 7 partners (57%) coming from the private sector, including 2 SMEs. The coordinator TREK is a Greek SME, which signals a commercially minded lead rather than a purely academic effort. With 2 universities and 1 research organization providing the scientific backbone, and partners spread across 6 countries (Greece, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, UK), the consortium covers key European insurance and fintech markets. The mix of behavioural psychology, computer security, and economics expertise across partners reflects the interdisciplinary challenge of pricing cyber risk.
TREK ANAPTYKSIAKON IPODOMON KE IPIRESION ANONIMI ETERIA is a Greek SME that coordinated the project. Contact them for licensing, partnership, or technical details about the CYBECO Toolbox.
Want to explore how CYBECO's cyber risk models could strengthen your insurance products or security investment decisions? SciTransfer can arrange an introduction to the research team and help you evaluate the fit.
