CaixaBank reinforces its leadership in the area of cybersecurity with its participation, as the only Spanish financial entity, in two pioneering initiatives in Europe for the protection of critical infrastructures. The VIGILANCE and CYBERAID projects, which will run from the beginning of 2026 to the end of 2028, promote advances in the field of cyber defense and cybersecurity through the use of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain, with the development of capabilities aimed at post-quantum security.
Both projects seek to advance the protection of European critical infrastructures, developing autonomous platforms that not only detect and respond to threats in real time, but also evolve towards proactive and adaptive cybersecurity ecosystems. This approach is crucial to confront the sophisticated cyber threats faced by vital sectors, such as the financial sector, where cybersecurity is a key element.
Specifically, the VIGILANCE project (Versatile Intelligent aGents for Interconnected Ledgers and Autonomous Next-gen Cybersecurity Ecosystems) advances the development of an autonomous, scalable cybersecurity platform based on artificial intelligence. The project proposes a new generation Zero Trust approach, supported by intelligent agents, adversarial AI, blockchain technologies and advanced post-quantum cybersecurity mechanisms.
VIGILANCE will enable early threat detection, dynamic risk assessment and automated response orchestration, evolving from reactive models towards proactive and self-adaptive cybersecurity ecosystems. The developed capabilities will be validated in large-scale pilots in sectors such as telecommunications, logistics and mobility, and the financial sector, reinforcing operational resilience and European digital sovereignty in terms of cybersecurity.
The financial sector pilot, which will be led by CaixaBank, will focus on complex and interconnected environments, evaluating the capacity of the solutions developed to reduce detection and response times, improve operational resilience and facilitate the integration of post-quantum security mechanisms in current cybersecurity ecosystems.
Cyber resilience of the financial sector
On the other hand, the CYBERAID project focuses on increasing the cyber resilience of the financial sector through the development of an advanced cybersecurity infrastructure based on agentic artificial intelligence.
The project seeks to develop architectures capable of proactively managing vulnerabilities, incidents and cyber risks through the integration of generative AI and advanced language models (LLMs). By leading a pilot focused on the application of these technologies in real financial services, CaixaBank aims to validate the intelligent orchestration of cybersecurity tools, ensuring much more autonomous management of cyber risks and allowing systems to not only react to events, but also be able to predict and adapt to them, thus reinforcing the overall cybersecurity of the system.
The projects position CaixaBank at the forefront of European cybersecurity, an increasingly critical field in the face of growing global threats to critical infrastructure. Furthermore, by working with international partners, these initiatives reinforce CaixaBank’s role in moving towards European digital sovereignty based on cybersecurity. Thanks to the use of cutting-edge technologies and strategic collaboration, the entity develops capabilities that not only benefit the organization itself, but also the entire European financial ecosystem in terms of cybersecurity.
Both projects are funded by the European Commission within the framework of the Digital Europe programme, under grant agreements no. 101249737 (VIGILANCE) and no. 101249596 (CYBERAID).
Participation in European projects
Through various funding programs (Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, etc.), the European Union promotes collaborative projects for research and innovation. Financing is granted after competitive call processes in which public-private consortia present their proposals. Despite these being highly competitive calls, CaixaBank has managed to participate in more than ten winning consortia in recent years, obtaining financing in technological innovation and cybersecurity of more than three million euros.
In addition to this consortium, CaixaBank has participated in other collaborative R&D&I projects in different financing frameworks of the European Commission, whose objective is to guarantee that Europe produces top-level science and eliminates barriers to innovation, especially in key areas such as cybersecurity.
In total, the entity has been part of fourteen consortia since 2018 thanks to a high success rate in the competitive calls in which it has participated.
Cybersecurity, a strategic priority
Cybersecurity is a strategic priority for CaixaBank, which has implemented an ecosystem with specialized teams and advanced technological infrastructure to protect digital transactions against security incidents. This commitment to cybersecurity is reflected in a continuous investment in technology and the constant improvement of its protection capabilities.
The project proposes a new generation Zero Trust approach, supported by intelligent agents, adversarial AI, blockchain technologies and advanced post-quantum cybersecurity mechanisms
The entity invests sustainably in technology to respond to customer needs, guarantee growth, adapt to business demands and ensure the permanent availability of information. All of this contributes to a robust infrastructure aligned with the highest cybersecurity standards.
Beyond the continuous reinforcement of its technological architecture, the entity carries out intense information work to help identify and prevent digital fraud and scams, promoting safe habits in the use of financial channels. Through informative content, information campaigns, training sessions and collaborations with media and institutions, CaixaBank offers constant information to reinforce cybersecurity and contribute to generating a safer digital environment for all of society.
