The Spanish National Cybersecurity Institute’s (INCIBE) Strategic Initiative for Innovative Public Procurement (IECPI) is an industrial development model that has cemented its place as a highly useful tool for helping public institutions drive innovation and competitiveness by addressing detected problems and needs by creating solutions that previously didn’t exist on the market.
With a public investment of €224 million, it’s the largest cybersecurity IECPI worldwide, developed by trailblazing companies in collaboration with SMEs, startups, universities, and research institutions. In fact, the Luis Valle program has secured most of its funding from the IECPI. Its goals are as follows: work on national policymaking in this area, promote entrepreneurship, strengthen capabilities, and develop talent, all in the field of cybersecurity.
In this context, multinational technology company GMV has received the INCIBE’s backing to launch the Luis Valle R&D+i Program, which focuses on two cybersecurity projects: 1) the development of a self-sovereign digital identity solution, and 2) a cybersecurity operations center (SOC) for the space industry. The benefits of the two projects for society are undeniable and in line with INCIBE’s mission of educating and raising awareness among the public of the importance of cybersecurity research and innovation in improving their quality of life. The goal is to develop digital innovation at the service of the public and society as a whole. During the presentation of the key aspects of the Luis Valle R&D+i Program, Héctor Estrada, the director of INCIBE’s Transportation and Space sectors, emphasized that innovative public procurement is an effective tool for promoting innovation within the
Spanish industrial sector, introducing a helpful funding and coordination mechanism between universities and research centers and industry itself. “INCIBE’s mission is to make Spain one of the world’s top five countries for cybersecurity, both for individuals and companies, and make Spain’s cybersecurity innovation, products, professionals, and services leaders in Europe,” he added.
Self-sovereign identity: when users control their data
Juan Jesús León, director of products and new developments at GMV’s Secure e-Solutions, explained what it means to develop a self-sovereign identity (SSI) solution. “It aims for users, as much as possible, to be in control of their own digital identities, empowering them to manage their personal information by deciding how and when they share this information online.”
This technological breakthrough is redefining online security and privacy, emerging as a powerful solution for self-managing identity data in the digital age. Unlike traditional approaches where third parties such as governments or companies store and manage personal data and verify an individual’s identity, self-sovereign digital identities put users in charge of their own personal data, allowing them to disclose only as much information as they feel is necessary at any given time.
“In order to do without centralized identity-issuing authorities, most sovereign identity solutions are being developed through blockchain technology,” added David Álvarez, head of cybersecurity software developments for GMV’s Secure e-Solutions. GMV’s research project goes beyond this technology, replacing it with identity-based cryptography (IBC) or identity-based encryption (IBE). GMV has extensive experience in the use of related cryptography in mobile authentication environments, holding two patents in this area.
We’ll no longer have to worry about our data being sold, and we’ll be less likely to fall victim to scams. Sovereign digital identity has notable applications in online services, financial transactions, healthcare, and other areas where identity verification is crucial, and privacy is essential.
Cybersecurity for satellite networks: protecting critical infrastructure
The second project in the Luis Valle R&D+i Program consists of GMV developing an SOC for the space industry, which will mitigate possible satellite security incidents. “It’s well known that satellites play a key role in several areas, including communications, Earth observation, navigation, national security, and critical infrastructure, and that any incident can have major socioeconomic and national security consequences,” explained Julio Vivero, business partner of GMV’s Secure e-Solutions international sector. Any disruptions to critical services provided by satellites could impact global connectivity, affecting emergency services, telecommunications services, or access to vital information. A recent example is the role of cyberspace in the conflict in Ukraine. Several satellites are collecting information on the Russian invasion, and the images are then used for drawing up strategies, detecting war crimes, and tracking refugees. The challenges facing the
cybersecurity sector in relation to satellites are many and wide-ranging. As digital technology evolves, so do cyber threats, making it necessary to redefine protection systems to defend our countries.
Though satellite centers have traditionally been isolated from the outside world, and traditional security has been based on physical protection of the perimeter, most satellite operators do not have a satisfactory solution to the cybersecurity problems they face. Through the Luis Valle Program, GMV will provide a technological response to six major challenges: lack of traceability of operator actions within a control center, securitization of operating systems and applications, securing of systems, specific monitoring tools for a satellite control center and sharing security intelligence with other control centers, trained specialist cybersecurity incident response teams, and specific security clearances.
