Sustainable Autonomy and Resilience for LEAs using AI against High priority Threats (STARLIGHT)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Secure societies - protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens
Theme: Fight crime, illegal trafficking and terrorism, including understanding and tackling terrorist ideas and beliefs
Action type: Innovation actions
Countries involved: Spain,Italy,Austria,Germany,Germany,Spain,Estonia,Germany,Germany,Italy,Germany,Spain,Spain,Spain,Italy,Spain,Cyprus,Belgium,Belgium,Finland,Greece,Sweden,Greece,Lithuania,Poland,Latvia,France,France,France,Czechia,Netherlands,Netherlands,Netherlands,Netherlands,United Kingdom,Portugal
Call: Secure and resilient Artificial Intelligence technologies, tools and solutions in support of Law Enforcement and citizen protection, cybersecurity operations and prevention and protection against adversarial Artificial Intelligence (H2020-SU-AI-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2021-10-01
End date: 2025-09-30
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 18835263.75
EU funding (EUR): 17000000.0
Participants: 54
Project status: SIGNED

The increasing complexity of security challenges combined with the accumulation of significant amounts of digital data calls for better and more widespread use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities for law enforcement agencies (LEAs). AI can provide benefits to LEAs at all levels given the right understanding, tools, data and protection while increased awareness of criminal misuse is providing an immediate and concerning threat that must be tackled rapidly. Furthermore, a community that brings together LEAs, researchers, industry, security practitioners and other actors in the security ecosystem under a coordinated and strategic effort is essential for the realisation of these efforts into operational practices. STARLIGHT presents an inclusive and sustainable vision for increasing the awareness, capability, adoption and long-term impact of AI in Europe for LEAs. Five strategic goals underpin STARLIGHT’s approach: (1) Improve the widespread UNDERSTANDing of AI across LEAs to reinforce their investigative and cybersecurity operations and the need to uphold legal, ethical and societal values; (2) Provide opportunities to LEAs to EXPLOIT AI tools and solutions in their operational work that are trustworthy, transparent and human-centric; (3) Ensure that LEAs can PROTECT their own AI systems through privacy- and security-by-design approaches, better cybersecurity tools and knowledge; (4) Raise LEAs’ expertise and capacity to COMBAT the misuse of AI-supported crime and terrorism; and (5) BOOST AI for LEAs in Europe through high-quality datasets, an interoperable and standardised framework for long term sustainability of solutions, and the creation of an AI hub for LEAs that supports a strong AI security industry and enhances the EU’s strategic autonomy in AI. STARLIGHT will ensure European LEAs lead the way in AI innovation, autonomy and resilience, addressing the challenges of now and the future, prioritising the safety and security of Europe for all.

Keywords: law enforcement,technological autonomy,cybersecurity,emerging threats,human centric,multidisciplinary,resilience,sovereignty,ethics privacy and security by design,adversarial,ai on demand