Vision
To enhance law enforcement operations through innovative collaborative investigation tools.
While technological solutions for investigations and global cooperation do exist, they are mostly fragmented and myopic, focusing on very narrow and isolated functions within their own boundaries without ensuring interoperability and international cooperation.
To address this, AVALANCHE will empower law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to combat the evolving threats of hate speech, disinformation, and deepfakes, leveraging advanced open source intelligence gathering, AI-driven analytics, and cross-border intelligence-sharing.
AVALANCHE will enhance the ability of LEAs to detect, analyse, track, investigate and prevent criminal activity, focusing on malicious synthetic media use, coordinated influence campaigns and online incitement.
Outcomes
AVALANCHE will offer tools for semi-automatic collection of evidence for explainable investigations and reasoning through intelligence-led methods and contextual-aware gleaning of actions.
It will also provide interoperable systems and interconnection with national and international databases through common standards, data and schemas alignment, and mediation to foster information exchange and international cooperation.
To foster SMEs' solutions adoption by LEAs, AVALANCHE will produce training curricula, benchmark with Europol’s Innovation Lab, contribute to LEAs operational standards and establish a broad ecosystem of crime-relevant stakeholders, and complement its objectives by continuously receiving guidance from the EU Policy Instrument (EMPACT). Finally, the project will validate the integrated platform through a demonstration in diverse SPP scenarios that cover key operational domains with notable societal and market impact.
Objectives
Pillar 1
Intelligence-led technologies for prompt identification, investigation analysis, and control
Objective
To boost SMEs partnering via the co-development of innovative, advanced, AI-fuelled solutions which facilitate LEAs in detecting and investigating hate speech, disinformation and deepfakes-related online activity.
Pillar 2
Evidence-based, enriched and effective responses sealed for justice support
Objective
To fertilize a broad ecosystem of crime-relevant products and stakeholders (i.e., LEAs, technology providers, market boosters, etc.), which will ensure ubiquitous cooperation, quicker innovation uptake and actionable responses for successful law enforcement
Pillar 3
Mature applications and services for information exchange and international cooperation
Objective
To facilitate criminological investigations, exchange of harmonised information, and boost the adoption of mature technologies in current international cross-disciplinary operational environments
Consortium
The AVALANCHE project brings together seven partners (from 5 countries with the complementary expertise required to deliver the project’s objectives, including (a) experts technical partners leading design, technical and development work; (b) end-users and use case facilitators, focusing on the execution of the pilots and the assessing the impact of the AVALANCHE solutions; (c) legal and regulatory landscape experts managing compliance and ethical-legal aspects; and (d) dissemination and outreach experts.
Ubitech
Ubitech is an established SME with a track record in private and public sector software projects. Its portfolio encompasses bespoke software solutions, and numerous EU R&D projects. Overall Ubitech empowers organizations with strategy and digital tooling to excel in an evolving landscape. in AVALANCHE UBI is Project Coordinator and WP7 & WP8 Leader.
Netcompany
Netcompany is a large industrial partner with extensive experience in execution and integration in EU R&D and institutional projects. In AVALANCHE, NET will serve as Risk & Innovation Manager and WP8 Leader.
ITML
ITML is a fast-growing SME, established in Cyprus, specialising in digital experiences, cybersecurity, applied data analytics and tailored consultancy services, with a long track record in EU R&D projects. ITML is the project's Scientific and Technical Coordinator and WP4 and WP6 leader.
IDIR
IDIR is a versatile Irish SME bringing brings together academia and market experts with in-depth knowledge in the fields of Software & Requirements Engineering, Conceptual Modelling and user-centric Enterprise Software Architecture. IDIR will be the project's Data, Dissemination and Communication Manager and WP9 & WP10 Leader.
Quadible
Quadible is a startup offering innovative software solutions mitigating fraud and improving customer satisfaction while reducing customers' operating costs though behavioural analytics. In the project QAD will provide technical solutions and lead WP3 & WP5.
Serviciul de Protecție și Pază
is a Romanian government agency providing protection for government & foreign dignitaries and guard service for state headquarters and dignitaries residences. SPP is the project's end-user and will serve and try AVALANCHE's use-cases.
Arthur's Legal
Arthur's Legal is a technoogy law firm specialising in client, process-oriented and pro-active tier one legal services for corporations and governmental organisations, based in the Netherlands. In AVALANCHE, AL will oversee Legal & Ethical issues.
Work plan
The AVALANCHE work plan capitalises on the consortium's and the project's multidisciplinarity, and is laid out in accordance with Horizon Europe's Lump Sum principles.
List of Work Packages
WP1,2: MANAGE: Project Coordination & Technical Management
- Administrative and financial management
- Scientific, data, and technical management
- Quality, innovation, and risk management
- Legal and ethics management
- Decision making and conflict resolution
WP3: ANALYSE: Gap Analysis, End User Requirements & Use Cases Specification
- Review and evaluate current operational standards
- Requirements elicitation and analysis
- Use cases scenarios, benchmarks & KPIs set up
WP4: DESIGN: Technological Requirements & Conceptual Architecture
- System Requirements and Technical Specifications
- System architecture (components, interfaces, information flows, interactions, deployment views, etc.)
WP5: PRODUCE: Solutions to Fight Complex & Multifaceted Crime
- Dark and Surface Web Data Collection for OSINT & Reporting
- OSINT Behavioural Analysis for High-Risk Criminal Networks Mining & Reporting
- LEAs Decision Support Enabler with Sentiment Analysis on OSINT Data
- International Databases Interconnection & Information Exchange
WP6: INTEGRATE: Solutions Integration
- Tools and systems integration
- Unified UI, dashboards and reporting
- Management of CI/CD flows
- Quality & testing
- Storage layer, IAM/authentication and API security
WP7: UTILISE: Market Readiness of AVALANCHE Solutions
- Piloting of project results through two use cases
- Qualitative and quantitative verification and validation of developed technologies
- Design of new exploitation scenarios
WP8: ADOPT: Market Uptake of AVALANCHE Solutions
- Benchmark AVALANCHE solution with Europol’s innovation lab
- Design and deploy training curricula
- Impact assessment
- Updating operational standards and providing policy recommendations at the EU and national level
- LEAs and relevant communities engagement
WP9,10: EXPLOIT: Engagement, Dissemination, Communication and Exploitation
- Synergies and Stakeholders Engagement
- Dissemination and communication
- Business modelling and route to market
- Market analysis and commercial exploitation
Use Cases
To validate AVALANCHE's technologies in a real-world LEA operational environment, the project will deploy two (2) use case scenarios targeting: (i) Detection, investigation analysis and response aspects; and (ii) Evidence-based and secure information exchange aspects.
Mapping of Use Cases to AVALANCHE Solutions
- Use Case 1: Detection, Investigation Analysis & Response
- Use Case 2: Evidence-based & Secure Information Exchange
(i) Dark and Surface Web Data Collection for OSINT & Reporting;
(ii) OSINT Behavioural Analysis for High-Risk Criminal Networks Mining & Reporting;
(iii) LEAs Decision Support Enabler with Sentiment Analysis on OSINT Data
Topics:
(i) Detection of hate speech
(ii) Detection of disinformation
(iii) Detection of deepfakes
Approach:
(i) OSINT Surface/dark web, Social Media Platforms data collection
(ii) Behavioural approach with Social Network Analysis (identification of groups of invididuals, topics, trends); Pacient zero (the source of spread); Key actors (most influent person(s) within a group);
(iii) Sentiment analysis: classification and clustering of information; Text summarisation with key elements extraction and classification; Image analysis (object detection, crowd detection and counting, crowd activity detection, etc.)
International Databases Interconnection & Information Exchange among LEAs, Judicial & Forensics Authorities
Approach:
(i) Secure evidence storage (each item is securely stored, signed and a proof of integrity is maintained)
(ii) Role based access to limit data exposure
(iii) Bulk export and encrypt to securely transfer in a new instance (other LEA)
(iv) Import bulk export with verification of integrity
(v) Analysis results exported in JSON / PDF (signed) and checked for integrity
(vi) Integration with 3rd party LEAs databases
Synergies
AVALANCHE strives to create and maintain synergies for meaningful interactions with LEAs, relevant EU bodies and stakeholders and other related EU R&D projects creating a joint effort to enhance and optimise the use of project resources and maximise its impact.
Such synergies are to be created through:
- Joint activities with other related projects (national, EU and international R&I actions);
- The organisation and execution of workshops, hackathons and knowledge-sharing with LEAs, other projects and the general FCT community;
- The delivery of a series of training curricula to LEAs.
Details on specific activities will be posted here once available.