COcyber AI cybersecurity deephack: advancing European defence capabilities

Can AI stop the next big phishing attack? Join the challenge! 

Phishing attacks are evolving, making traditional cybersecurity defenses obsolete. AI-powered solutions can bridge the gap, detecting threats before they cause damage. But can we create technology that protects both civilian and defence sectors? That’s the challenge we’re tackling at the AI Cybersecurity Deephack!

• Event Date: April 24–26, 2025
• Location: Online
• Registration Deadline: April 13, 2025

Challenge

Participants will develop an AI-driven system that detects and prevents phishing attacks in real-time. Using natural language processing (NLP), anomaly detection, and existing phishing threat intelligence sources such as OpenPhish and Google Safe Browsing API, the goal is to create a system that can analyse linguistic anomalies, user behaviours, and suspicious URLs to identify threats before they reach their target.

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The solutions must protect businesses from financial fraud and data breaches and defend military and governmental institutions from cyber espionage and operational disruptions. These technologies can enhance cybersecurity resilience across both civilian and defence sectors by ensuring dual-use applications.

Dual-use context

Cyber threats do not differentiate between sectors. A phishing attack targeting an enterprise could lead to financial fraud, while a similar attack on a defence entity could result in intelligence leaks or operational paralysis. The challenge encourages the development of AI solutions that strengthen cybersecurity across industries by enabling better threat intelligence sharing and supply chain security.

Practical deployment challenges

Participants should be aware of : 

• Addressing AI bias in phishing detection (especially for non-English attacks).
• Potential dual-use risks (e.g., offensive applications of AI-generated threat intelligence) – See regulatory frameworks above
• Data sensitivity: Defense applications require highly secure data handling, while civilian use cases may prioritize openness and collaboration: solutions must work across classified networks (e.g., military intranets) and less restrictive civilian environments.
• On-prem vs. Cloud vs. Edge computing: Military environments often require air-gapped or edge computing solutions, while civilians leverage cloud-based AI models.
• Legacy system compatibility: Defense organizations often use older infrastructure, requiring adaptable solutions.
• Latency & Real-time decision making: In defense, milliseconds can be critical (e.g., autonomous threat response), while in civilian applications, slight delays may be tolerable.
• Resilience to adversarial AI: Military applications face nation-state-level cyber threats, necessitating stronger adversarial defenses.

PRE-HACK EVENT

To help you get familiar with the hackathon challenge, partners and practicalities, a pre-hackathon webinar will be organised on April 2nd at 15:00 CET.

When and who should join?

The AI Cybersecurity Deephack will take place online from April 24 to April 26, 2025. Participants must register by April 13, 2025, to secure their spot.

Teams should consist of 2 to 5 members, with up to 12 teams selected to compete. Also individual registration is possible – you will be assigned to a team at the end of the registration process. 

This Deephack is looking for: 

• Start-ups, scale-ups looking for funding to enhance their cybersecurity solution
• SMEs, Corporates team testing AI applications
• Government and law enforcement tech teams focusing on cyber defense
• Cybersecurity professionals and ethical hackers
• University students specialising in AI, cybersecurity, or software development looking for Industry exposure 

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