REINFORCE

REINFORCE is a European initiative that delivers an AI-powered cybersecurity ecosystem designed specifically for the healthcare sector. The project responds to the growing exposure of hospitals and healthcare providers to cyberattacks that threaten patient safety, service continuity, and the protection of sensitive health data.

By combining advanced artificial intelligence technologies with secure-by-design principles and targeted capacity-building actions, REINFORCE strengthens the ability of healthcare organisations to anticipate, detect, and respond to cyber incidents. The project focuses on practical deployment, regulatory alignment, and long-term adoption across diverse healthcare environments.

 

TECHNICAL APPROACH

REINFORCE adopts an integrated technical approach that merges AI-driven threat intelligence, secure system architectures, and human-centric cybersecurity training into a unified operational framework for healthcare organisations.

At the core of the solution is a centralised threat intelligence architecture that coordinates monitoring, detection, response, and learning activities across hospital infrastructures. This enables healthcare providers to improve cybersecurity maturity while reducing reliance on scarce specialist resources.

Main activities

• AI engineering

• Cloud infrastructure and big data pipelines

• Digital twin development

• Secure-by-design framework implementation

• Cybersecurity testing, training, and awareness activities

Technologies

Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Digital Assistants
Large Language Models
Risk Analysis
Incident Detection
Cyber Operations
Zero-Trust Architectures
Advanced Encryption

The REINFORCE ecosystem integrates an AI-Enhanced Security Operations Center (SOC) for continuous monitoring and incident handling, alongside a Testing, Training, and Awareness Platform that supports phishing simulations, penetration testing, interactive learning, and digital twin-based experimentation.

The solution is validated through real-world pilots in European hospitals, ensuring scalability, replicability, and compliance with NIS2, GDPR, EHDS, and the EU Cybersecurity Action Plan for Hospitals.

TARGET GROUPS

REINFORCE addresses key stakeholders across the European healthcare cybersecurity landscape, including:

• Hospitals and healthcare providers, both public and private

• Healthcare executives and decision-makers responsible for risk governance and compliance

• Medical and administrative staff participating in cybersecurity awareness and training programmes

• ICT and cybersecurity service providers supporting healthcare infrastructures

• Public authorities and policy bodies involved in cybersecurity and health data regulation

ASSIST SOFTWARE’S ROLE

ASSIST Software participates in REINFORCE as both a coordination and technical partner, contributing to the successful delivery and validation of the project’s AI-driven cybersecurity ecosystem.

On the coordination side, ASSIST supports project management, partner collaboration, planning, monitoring, and quality assurance, ensuring alignment between technical development, pilot deployments, and dissemination activities.

From a technical perspective, ASSIST is involved in the design, development, and integration of AI-based cybersecurity components, including AI/ML-powered monitoring and detection mechanisms within the AI-Enhanced SOC. The team contributes to platform integration, secure-by-design implementation, and technical validation in pilot hospital environments.

Through these activities, ASSIST Software helps transform advanced research and AI capabilities into robust, production-ready cybersecurity solutions tailored to the operational realities of European healthcare organisations.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

REINFORCE is funded by the Digital Europe Programme of the European Union and submitted under the DIGITAL-ECCC-2025-DEPLOY-CYBER-08-CYBERHEALTH call for proposals, with Project ID 101299739.