Adapt researchers join international project fighting online manipulation and interference
Dr. Brendan Spillane (UCD) and Prof. Owen Conlan (TCD) from Adapt, the Science Foundation Ireland research centre for digital content, are participating in a Horizon Europe project tackling Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI).
The project, An Exposition on The Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference,” (aka Athena) seeks to protect the democratic processes of EU nations under threat from cyber-attacks originating from countries like Russia and China.
Athena’s primary goal is to understand the tactics, techniques, and procedures employed by perpetrators in these activities and to provide policymakers and stakeholders with ATHENA the necessary tools for combating FIMI and disinformation. This will enable the project to develop countermeasures and evaluate their impact.
Dr. Brendan Spillane and Prof. Owen Conlan’s contributions will include explorations of known FIMI campaigns in Europe, the creation of a FIMI detection platform including a toolbox for analysis, a knowledge graph to store the data, and a dynamic dashboard to enable European policy makers to monitor FIMI activities to devise effective counter-strategies. Athena will additionally conduct a comparative legal and regulatory analysis of how eight EU member states address FIMI, identifying areas where policy enhancement is feasible. The consortium will devise an accessible questionnaire for public utilisation, enabling individuals to recognise encounters with FIMI in their daily lives.
Dr Spillane said: “The research being undertaken by Adaptresearchers in ATHENA builds on their coordination from another Horizon Europe Vigilant project which will equip European Police Authorities with technology to detect, analyse and combat disinformation linked to criminal activities, and a previous H2020 project called Provenance which developed technology to warn end users of disinformation when using the Internet or social media.
Additionally, Athena will focus on knowledge dissemination and training in universities and schools, amplifying widespread awareness of FIMI and fostering defences against it.
Dr. David Wright from Trilateral Research, coordinator of the project, said: “The Athena project is not just a response to current threats but a proactive step towards a more secure digital future for Europe”.
“Disinformation spread as part of FIMI campaigns has the potential to negatively impact societal values and undermine political processes. ATHENA will develop advanced AI-informed countermeasures and playbooks to help policy makers combat FIMI.”, said Prof. Conlan.
Athena involves 14 partners including Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH, Greece); the University of Cyprus (UCY); the Bavarian Police Academy (Germany); the Research Institutes of Sweden; Laurea University of Applied Sciences (Finland); Fundació Eurecat (Spain); Storyzy (France); Trinity College Dublin; the European Organisation for Security (Belgium); Maldita (Spain); EU-Disinfo (Belgium); and University College Dublin.
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