OSPREY – Online Safety and Security for Protection of Public-Facing Professionals and Democratic Resilience
Violence and harassment against elected officials and other public-facing professionals (PFP), particularly local police officers, are on the rise across Europe, especially in online spaces. Elected representatives and law enforcement officers are the most vulnerable, as well as their families. These attacks, often portrayed as a way of holding these professionals to account, have significant consequences on their well-being and participation in democratic life. It is therefore essential to provide these individuals and their organisations with effective mechanisms to prevent, manage and mitigate these risks. In order to ensure social cohesion and the proper functioning of public services, the safety of elected officials and law enforcement officers is essential.
- Improving democratic resilience: this project aims to combat online harassment and intimidation that threaten public debate.
- Increasing the safety of local operators and elected representatives: this safeguards the integrity, effectiveness and commitment of elected representatives and local operators serving in society.
To achieve these objectives, the project will focus on the following actions:
- Creation of a knowledge domain: development of a knowledge domain on the tactics and motivations of attackers in order to improve security strategies.
- Development of tools and training: designing AI-based tools, training programmes and kits for targeted professionals (TPs) and their families, as well as for organisations, law enforcement agencies and policy-makers, to prevent and reduce online harm.
- Public awareness: awareness campaigns on the impact of online harrassment, encouraging allies and bystanders to get involved in protecting targeted professionals
The project’s activities are organised into several key phases:
- Research and analysis: studying existing legislation and analysing the extent of online threat in order to define the technical and non-technical requirements for future solutions.
- Co-developing detection tools: creating AI tools capable of detecting sensitive information and online attacks targeting professionals.
- Reporting and mitigating solutions: creating risk assessment tools as well as tools to investigate online incidents.
- Pilot trials: testing the tools developed through practical exercises with law enforcement agencies and the targeted professionals.
- Legal support and wellbeing: developing an app that provides personalised advice to professionals and their families.
The project is led by Centric – Sheffield Hallam University (United Kingdom). The partners are Ετηνικο Kentro Erevnas Και Technologikis Anaptyxis (Greece), Cybercrime Research Institute Gmbh (Cri) (Germany) , Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (Eur) (Netherlands) , European Forum for Urban Security (France) , Sisaministerio (Finland) , Ministère de l’Interieur (France), Global Cyber Alliance Belgium Asbl (Belgium) , Home Office (United Kingdom) , Erevniτικο Ρανepistimiako Institouto Systimaton Epικοινονιον Και Ypologiston (Greece) , Camara Municipal De Lisboa (Portugal) , Malta Police Force (Malta) , Mcmaster University (Canada) , Scottish Police Authority (United Kingdom) , Fundacion Centro De Tecnologias De Interaccion Visual Y Comunicaciones Vicomtech (Spain) , Victim Support Europe Aisbl (Belgium) , Cyberpeace Institute (Switzerland).
This project is part of Efus’s commitment to taking immediate and long-term action, without allowing fear to dictate politics. By working with local authorities and police forces within the forum’s network, Efus ensures that the tools developed meet local operational needs and contribute to the sharing of best practices with local authorities across Europe. Finally, Efus is carrying out advocacy work with European decision-makers to translate the project’s results into public policy recommendations.
December 2025 – November 2028
Asma Kaouech – Senior Programme Manager – kaouech@urbansecurity.org
Moumtaez Ben Mabrouk – Programme Manager – benmabrouk@urbansecurity.org
Co-funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101225639. Views and opinions expressed are, however,those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union nor the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union or the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
