Commissioned by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe programme, the Shield-6G project is designed to build an AI-powered cyber threat intelligence platform tailored specifically for next-generation connectivity.

The core objective is to move beyond basic network reliability and toward what researchers describe as “systemic resilience”—networks that can anticipate, detect, and respond to threats in real time.

At the heart of the project is an AI-native, energy-efficient security architecture that uses zero-touch automated management. This system is intended to reduce human intervention while improving speed and accuracy in identifying cyber threats. It also incorporates privacy-preserving analytics, allowing different stakeholders to share intelligence without exposing sensitive raw data.

Shield-6G was selected as the only project under a competitive Horizon Europe call within the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking, a programme backed by €95.5 billion in research funding.

The consortium brings together 19 international partners, including universities, technology companies, and SMEs. The project is led by Professor Madhusanka Liyanage, a cybersecurity expert at UCD NetsLab, who specializes in secure 5G and 6G systems.

Liyanage said that 6G will go far beyond faster mobile internet, describing it as a future “digital nervous system” connecting people, infrastructure, industries, and autonomous systems. He added that Shield-6G aims to embed security, trust, and resilience at the foundation of that ecosystem.

A key commercial element of the project is the involvement of MBP Network Technology, a UCD spin-out established in 2024, which will help translate research into real-world applications such as edge-based security services, energy-efficient AI optimization, and intrusion detection systems.

Rather than reacting to cyber threats after they occur, Shield-6G focuses on proactive defense, aiming to create communication networks that can adapt and protect themselves automatically in real time.

In simple terms, Europe is trying to make the next generation of the internet not just faster—but self-defending.