A European Commission-backed project to develop secure network technologies for 6G has launched, securing $9 million in funding.

The Shield-6G project, announced back at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, will look to create a cybersecurity threat intelligence platform capable of identifying vulnerabilities in networks. AI infusions, along with privacy-preserving solutions like secure multiparty computation, would allow the platform to coordinate responses to potential breaches with minimal human intervention.

Defense and aerospace giant Thales joined the effort as a partner, with the University College Dublin (UCD) given the lead on the project. In total, some 19 partners from across Europe will work on the Shield-6G project, with network security developer and UCD spinout MBP Systems brought in to help bridge academic research with actual commercial deployment ideas.

“6G will be far more than the next step in mobile connectivity; it will form the intelligent digital nervous system of future society, connecting people, industries, critical infrastructure, and autonomous systems,” UCD associate professor and Shield-6G project lead Madhusanka Liyanage. “Through Shield-6G, we are working to ensure that security, trust, and resilience are embedded at the very foundation of this future.”

High-profile breaches like Salt Typhoon, along with zero-day software vulnerabilities, have brought telecom network security to the fore of late, leading to clampdowns from the likes of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The Shield-6G project then looks to create an AI-driven effort to protect 6G networks. By the time the next-generation standard proliferates, threat actors will likely be considerably more effective than they are today – and with the looming threat of quantum computing augmenting cybersecurity attacks just on the horizon, network security needs a boost.

“By developing an advanced 6G-native cyber threat intelligence platform, Shield-6G will enable future networks to anticipate, detect, and recover from cyber threats intelligently, efficiently, and in real time,” Liyanage said. “This is a major opportunity for Ireland and UCD to play a leading role in shaping secure and trustworthy 6G networks globally.”

“Shield-6G is an important step towards building secure, resilient, and trustworthy 6G infrastructures,” Pascal Bisson, Thales’ head of advanced studies and project technical manager within Shield-6G, added. “By bringing together cyber threat intelligence, AI-native security, and automated response capabilities, the project will help address the complex security challenges of future networks.”