EU borders are constantly faced with a multiplicity of challenges, from increased waves of illegal migration to human trafficking, document fraud, terrorism, smuggling, and public health threats. In the CRiTERIA project we will develop a novel risk analysis methodology, which is, on the one hand, clearly rooted and builds upon existing methodology such as CIRAM and, on the other hand introduces novel more complex and effective indicators, which overcome important limitations of existing models. Such extended risk and vulnerability analysis methodology has to be backed by effective intelligent analysis technology. Building upon existing text, media, data and network analysis technology, in CRiTERIA, we will develop and evaluate advanced analysis technologies and tools that are tailored to the new comprehensive threat indicators of the CRiTERIA methodology. Special focus will be put to the consideration of the role of narratives, events, attitudes, and to the vulnerability of borders and humans as well as on providing semi-automatic tools and methods for risk-related evidence validation and explanation, for identifying risk propagation and interlinking, thus supporting decision processes in risk analysis in an innovative way. When developing this holistic CRiTERIA risk and vulnerability analysis framework for border agencies ethical, legal and societal aspects will be considered from the very beginning. The methodology will be developed in close collaboration with practitioners from border agencies, which will also validate the developed methods and technologies in piloting activities. For achieving its goals CRiTERIA brings together an interdisciplinary team of experts including researchers in the fields of security and risk analysis, in the field of data and media analysis and in the field of ethics, law and societal aspects, as well as border agencies, NGOs and companies.

The proposed solution aims to deliver a descriptive and predictive data analytics platform and related tools using state-of-the-art machine learning and artificial intelligence methods to prevent, detect, analyse, and combat criminal activities. AIDA will focus on cybercrime and terrorism, by addressing specific challenges related to law enforcement investigation and intelligence. While cybercrime and terrorism pose distinct problems and may rely on different input datasets, the analysis of this data can benefit from the application of the same fundamental technology base framework, endowed with Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning techniques applied to big data analytics, and extended and tailored with crime- and task- specific additional analytic capabilities and tools. The resulting TRL-7 integrated, modular and flexible AIDA framework will include LE-specific effective, efficient and automated data mining and analytics services to deal with intelligence and investigation workflows, extensive content acquisition, information extraction and fusion, knowledge management and enrichment through novel applications of Big Data processing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, predictive and visual analytics. AIDA system and tools will be made available to LEAs through a secure sandbox environment that aims to raise the technological readiness level of the solutions through their application in operational environment with real data.

MAGNETO addresses significant needs of law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in their fight against terrorism and organised crime, related to the massive volumes, heterogeneity and fragmentation of the data that officers have to analyse for the prevention, investigation and prosecution of criminal offences. These needs have been identified after consulting with eleven different European LEAs –members of the MAGNETO consortium. In response, MAGNETO empowers LEAs with superior crime analysis, prevention and investigation capabilities, by researching and providing tailored solutions and tools based on sophisticated knowledge representation, advanced semantic reasoning and augmented intelligence, well integrated in a common, modular platform with open interfaces. By using the MAGNETO platform, LEAs will have unparalleled abilities to fuse and analyse multiple massive heterogeneous data sources, uncover hidden relationships among data items, compute trends for the evolution of security incidents, ultimately (and at a faster pace) reaching solid evidence that can be used in Court, gaining also better awareness and understanding of current or past security-related situations. In parallel, MAGNETO will spark an ecosystem of third-party solution providers benefiting from its open, modular and reusable architectural framework and standard interfaces. To achieve these objectives, MAGNETO will test and demonstrate its developments on five representative and complementary use cases (types of crime), under real-life operational conditions in the facilities of eleven different LEAs, keeping them continuously in the production loop, adopting an agile implementation methodology and a multi-disciplinary scientific approach, combining researchers with exceptional track records, officers with top-level operational know-how in law enforcement, recognised experts for legal and ethical compliance to EU and national standards, and qualified training experts for innovative curricula development.

The EU has experienced a surge in fixed border surveillance solutions, including physical barriers, covering 13% of external land borders. The BorderForce project responds to evolving threats by enhancing real-time surveillance capabilities. It introduces a dynamic system, featuring self-sufficient, transportable Command and Control (C2) Stations with configurable and extendable capabilities. These stations incorporate versatile surveillance towers with anti-drone features, integrating data from autonomous monitoring sensors and UAV systems. Dedicated satellite resources, including CubeSat, strategically positioned at high-risk spots, ensure frequent revisits to critical areas. To enable early threat assessment, BorderForce leverages Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT), processing online data for border security threats. The project emphasizes ethical, legal, and social aspects, safeguarding fundamental rights in border surveillance capability development. BorderForce collaborates with EU and candidate country border authorities, customs, and Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) entities. It defines scenarios, gathers architecture feedback, and validates end user feedback. The project emphasizes data exchange, novel user interfaces (e.g., XR), and immersive training for collaborative threat assessment, promoting safety and security while upholding fundamental rights. This solution enhances resource sustainability by improving the coordination and deployment of reusable security measures. The BorderForce solution will be validated in 2 field trials to become TRL7. It ensures seamless operations in monitoring the flow of goods, people, and information. Addressing challenges like migration, smuggling, and geopolitical tensions, BorderForce contributes to regional stability, particularly in crises. Overall, it combines technological innovation and international collaboration to bolster border security, prioritizing fundamental rights and ethical considerations.

VANGUARD aims to strengthen the fight against trafficking in human beings (THB) at the nexus of advanced technological solutions, understanding, awareness raising, and training in order to disrupt the trafficking chain at an early stage and address the culture of impunity. In particular, VANGUARD aims to provide an improved intelligence picture of THB, with particular focus on THB for purposes of sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, and forced criminality. This will be achieved through developing a modular and trustworthy suite of tools for detecting, identifying, investigating, and preventing online-facilitated THB activities and THB-related activities at (border) checkpoints based on the analysis of online multimedia content and multimodal streams, by leveraging the latest advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI). It will also address the societal dimensions of THB through improved understanding and engagement with relevant actors, improved strategies of international cooperation, increased awareness, and better evidence-based policymaking. The capacity of end users (including Police and Border Guard Authorities) will be further enhanced and will enable them to tackle such criminal activities in an effective manner based on advanced tools and solutions and on innovative training curricula. VANGUARD will be validated in field tests and demonstrations in three operational use cases. Extensive training, hands-on experience, joint exercises, and training material will boost the uptake of VANGUARD tools and technologies. With a Consortium of seven Police and Border Guard Authorities (including from countries of origin and transit of THB networks and countries neighbouring Ukraine), one Police Academy, eight research/academic institutions, four industry partners (including two SMEs), and two CSOs, VANGUARD delivers a strong representation of the challenges, requirements, and tools to meet its objectives.