Bridging the security, privacy and data protection gap for smaller enterprises in Europe (SENTINEL)

Over 25 million European SMEs/MEs, central within EU enterprise policy, face multiple challenges related to personal data protection; ranging from awareness, to a clear and practical roadmap to compliance, the most prominent one is the fact that, unlike larger enterprises, SMEs/MEs lack access to enterprise-grade cybersecurity technology and capacity-building for compliance, making them increasingly often victims of costly data breaches. Although, according to studies, small and micro businesses declare openness to invest in regulatory compliance, including for consultants and technology, millions of European SMEs/MEs still fail to comply with GDPR while their managers are confused about basic data security concepts, like data stewardship, encryption and secure communication. This presents a clear gap between cybersecurity- and privacy-related spending and its actual effect in personal data protection compliance.

SENTINEL aspires to bridge this gap by boosting SMEs/MEs capabilities in this domain through innovation, at a cost-effective level. SENTINEL will integrate tried-and-tested modular cybersecurity technologies with fresh, ambitious ones, such as a novel Identity Management System for human-centric data portability, enabling a unified “European Data Space” and an end-to-end digital personal data protection compliance self-assessment framework for SMEs, into a unified digital architecture. The data from these modules will then undergo disruptive Intelligence for Compliance through SENTINEL’s digital core, featuring machine learning-powered recommendations, policy drafting & enforcement for compliance and a ‘one-stop-shop’ incident response centre. Combined with a well-researched methodology for application, an open knowledge sharing hub and a wide-reaching plan for experimentation, SENTINEL will catalyse adoption of market-leading security tech among SMEs/MEs and help safeguard their and their customers’ assets.