Project Alpha

The aim of the Project Alpha, which is of national and international significance, is to create new knowledge, expertise and new shared innovations for identifying cyber threats as well as for improving situational awareness. The Project Alpha research develops data models that can be used to integrate data from different systems and data sources. It is part of the Business Finland Digital Trust programme.

In the last year with the tense international situation, cyber threats have become one of the most urgent discussion topics. At the same time, improving the efficiency of public safety authorities is an important development target. The aim of the Project Alpha, is to create new knowledge, expertise and new shared innovations for identifying cyber threats as well as for improving situational awareness.

Project actions and objectives

Responding to cyber threats requires broader than before situational awareness based on field data and diverse data sources. The Project Alpha research develops data models that can be used to integrate data from different systems and data sources. The data models aim to enable the presentation of user-specific situational awareness in networked and allied inter-agency activities.

To create situational awareness, a huge amount of data is needed that can be collected by monitoring the environment and utilising state-of-the-art technologies such as smart analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), various forms of data processing, telecommunications technologies and IoT technologies.

Experimenting in test environments supports and verifies the research of situational awareness solutions, the integration of solutions from different organisations and public field experiments. Workshops and field trials also play an important role in the achievement of the Project Alpha’s co-operation and objectives. 

The aim of the Project Alpha is to enable authorities a better understanding of situational awareness and to improve decision-making capabilities in the authorities’ field operations, control centres, and regional and national organisations. The aim is also to give different authorities a better ability to coordinate their actions, which improves public safety. The project’s business partners strive to accelerate their growth by renewing their product portfolios and aiming for new market segments, which will be reflected in the long-term growth of business, exports and employment opportunities.

Many changing and global threats to the environment, society and technological risks have contributed to the need for a project such as the Project Alpha. The project also increases international co-operation in cyber security, situational awareness and decision-making between authorities.

In addition to project coordinator Centria, Project Alpha’s research involves VTT, Airbus, Anarky Labs, Bittium, EXFO, Erillisverkot, Fairspectrum, Goodmill Systems, Insta, Mentura, Nokia, the Finnish Defence Research Institute (PVTUTKL) and the Finnish Ministry of the Interior. The project is funded by Business Finland.

Project Alpha’s consortium visited the Vierimaantie campus

Project Alpha’s consortium visited the Vierimaantie campus at the turn of October-November. The results, so far, were successfully tested and demonstrated for three days. End-user representatives, companies, and research organisations agreed that the research and co-development work of the different actors has been significant and contributes to enriching the authorities’ situational awareness. Next year’s public trial was also on the agenda.

Project Alpha coordinated by Centria, prepares for its first testing event

Saku Seppälä is leading a major project in which new solutions are being created to enable the presentation of user-specific situational awareness in networked and allied inter agency activities.

Centria is coordinating Project Alpha, a nationally and internationally significant project that aims to create new knowledge, expertise and shared innovations for identifying cyber threats as well as for improving situational awareness. The research project, part of Business Finland’s Digital Trust programme, develops solutions and interfaces to integrate different systems and data sources. The new solutions will enable the presentation of user-specific situational awareness in networked and allied interagency activities.

Project Alpha’s first testing event will be held 31.10-2.11.2023 at the Vierimantie campus in Ylivieska. Its purpose is to bring the project actors together, test the functionality of the data sources and software, see how the components are made so far work with each other and plan together what improvements and additions are needed for the next public testing event. – The trial is seen as an important milestone in the project, for which careful preparations are made. It is a concrete opportunity to jointly test the different Proof of Concept solutions produced during the project. Working closely together has produced synergies between the different actors, says Project Manager Saku Seppälä.

Seppälä, who has had a long career at Elisa Corporation in various management and development positions, completed his Master of Business Administration degree at Centria in 2023. He believes that the positive experience he gained during his studies was the reason for him to apply for a job at the organisation. –  I was introduced to the company’s strong RDI activities already during my studies, Seppälä recalls. He thinks that Centria’s research and development activities are comparable to those of a specialist organisation in the private sector.

– It is extremely nice to work with such a diverse consortium, says Saku Seppälä, who is particularly fascinated by the synergy of different skills and actors in Project Alpha. – It is also interesting in this time. Project Alpha is doing important work to support decision-making between public authorities, says Seppälä.  

Seppälä is originally from Kokkola, but has lived and worked for most of his working life in the capital region. The new employee at Centria, who now lives in Ylivieska, is motivated by clear objectives. – The salt of project work is that the objectives set are to be met within a certain time frame. After that, we can set new goals with a sense of purpose. 

Project Alpha organized a two-day workshop at VTT’s premises in Otaniemi

Workshop greetings from Project Alpha! Consortium organized a two-day workshop at VTT’s premises in Otaniemi, Espoo on the first and second of January 2023. The aim of this workshop was to get to know requirements of the end users and the consortium members as well as plan joint activities through user stories created for the project. A successful workshop provided a strong basis for joint work and new innovations.