TEGRA, the cybersecurity center driven by Gradiant and Telefónica Tech, celebrates its 5th anniversary
TEGRA has established itself as a centre of reference in innovation and cybersecurity in Galicia and a success story of public-private collaboration.
The Center has addressed the development of technologies for the protection of information and digital fraud and the generation of cyber intelligence.
Gradiant and Telefónica Tech celebrated today the 5th anniversary of TEGRA Cybersecurity Center, an alliance promoted by both entities that has been consolidated as a reference centre in cybersecurity innovation in Galicia and a successful case of public-private collaboration.
Since its creation in 2018, the centre has focused on the development of cybersecurity technologies covering aspects such as information protection, protection against digital fraud and the generation of cyber-intelligence. To this end, a joint investment of €3.85M has been made, of which €1.1M corresponds to investment provided by the Galician Innovation Agency (GAIN).
Luis Pérez Freire, General Manager of Gradiant, highlighted the important role of programmes such as the “Joint Research Units”, in terms of stability and the injection of resources that it implies. “Although Gradiant and Telefónica Tech had already collaborated before, it would not have been possible all the work done in recent years without the existence of TEGRA”, said Pérez. Patricia Argerey, director of the Galician Innovation Agency, underlined the role of the IRMÁS-TEGRA Joint Unit in the technological positioning of Galicia in an emerging sector with great growth potential such as cybersecurity.
TEGRA has made possible the creation of qualified employment in a sector of great demand and growth potential, generating more than 10 direct jobs and involving more than 40 people in the R&D&I sector in Galicia.
Generation of a solid ecosystem
During the anniversary event, with the participation of INCIBE, Gain, Amtega, the University of Vigo and Ecix Group, a presentation of the results of TEGRA was made, and the importance of cybersecurity and the generation of a solid ecosystem in such an important and enabling area for the future of the economy as cybersecurity was reflected upon. In addition, the new trends in cybersecurity products and services were reviewed with the strategic vision provided by Telefónica Tech in this field.
Juan González, Co-Director of TEGRA in Gradiant stated that “Galicia is being a pioneer in the implementation of public-private collaboration tools for research in emerging technologies” and added that “the collaboration between Gradiant and Telefónica Tech was born in 2015, but it has been consolidated largely thanks to the joint unit and the creation of TEGRA”.
For his part, Juan Elosua, Co-Director of TEGRA for Telefónica Tech pointed out that “the initiatives we have developed during these years allow us to differentiate ourselves in the industrial environment”.
TEGRA Cybersecurity Center is part of the mixed research unit in cybersecurity IRMÁS 2.0 (Information Rights Management Advanced Systems), which is co-funded by the European Union, within the framework of the Operational Programme FEDER Galicia 2014-2020, for the promotion and generation of frontier knowledge, development of emerging technologies, essential enabling technologies and knowledge oriented to the challenges of society.
The Centre was created five years ago with the aim of developing products and services that improve the information security of Galician companies through advanced cryptographic techniques, designing identity verification mechanisms for accessing information and data analysis tools, as well as systems for classifying documentation and detecting irregular access to information.
Cybersecurity incidents increased by 9% in 2022
The Spanish National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE), managed 118,820 cybersecurity incidents in 2022, 9% more than the previous year, of which more than 110,100 affected citizens and companies. It is worth noting that 1 in 3 are a leak of sensitive, protected or confidential data that is stolen by an unauthorised person; and 2 out of 5 are vulnerabilities in technological systems.
As for the most frequent incidents, INCIBE highlights phishing with almost 17,000 incidents, followed by malware with more than 14,000.
Figures that support the need to transfer knowledge in cybersecurity to Galician companies, as well as to promote and raise awareness in society of the importance of digital security.
About Gradiant
Gradiant is a private ICT technology centre oriented to the needs of industry and specialised in the following technologies: cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, advanced communications (5G-6G), quantum technologies, drones and smart industry. An innovation provider, with nearly fifteen years of experience in technology incubation, more than 150 professionals in its team and with a presence in 30 countries and more than 400 customers.
In recent years, Gradiant has increased the number of licensing agreements for its innovation projects fivefold, reaching 150 licenses in 18 countries. Recent international public references include Telefonica, Vodafone, Samsung, Stellantis, NATO, Indra, Everis, Babcock international and Boeing.
About Telefónica Tech
Telefónica Tech is the leading company in digital transformation. The company offers a wide range of services and integrated technology solutions in Cybersecurity, Cloud, IoT, Big Data and Blockchain. For more information, please visit: https://telefonicatech.com/es
TEGRA cybersecurity center started within the framework of the mixed research unit IRMAS (Information Rights Management Advanced Systems), which is co-funded by European Union, within the framework of the Operational Program ERDF Galicia 2014-2020, to promote technological development, innovation and quality research.
