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Section 1 · Excellence

Proposal: PQC Integration for EU Critical Infrastructure Call: HORIZON-CL3-2025-CS-ECCC-06 Section: Part B Section 1 (30% of evaluation score) Page Limit: ~15 pages (subsections 1.1-1.4 combined)

1.1 Objectives

Specific, Measurable Objectives Aligned with Horizon Europe Call CL3-ECCC-06:

Overall Objective

Develop and validate a hybrid post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) transition framework for EU critical infrastructure, achieving TRL 6 through operational pilot deployments across 3 member states (France, Czech Republic, Greece), demonstrating 30% audit cost reduction and 50% faster incident detection while ensuring 100% backward compatibility with existing classical cryptography systems.

Specific Objectives (SO1-SO7)

SO1: Post-Quantum Algorithm Integration (M1-M14)

Integrate 3 NIST-standardized PQC algorithms (CRYSTALS-Kyber FIPS 203, CRYSTALS-Dilithium FIPS 204, SPHINCS+ FIPS 205) into VaultMesh receipt engine
Achieve 10,000 receipts/day throughput with PQC signing (baseline: 1,000/day classical)
Deliverables: D2.1 (Sealer Implementation, M8), D2.2 (Verifier CLI, M11), D2.3 (RFC-3161 TSA Integration, M14)
Verification: Benchmark tests showing <5ms signing latency per receipt

SO2: Hybrid Cryptographic Transition (M1-M12)

Develop dual signature mode (classical Ed25519 + PQC Dilithium in parallel)
Design hybrid key exchange (X25519 + CRYSTALS-Kyber for backward compatibility)
Create composite X.509 certificates following draft-ietf-lamps-pq-composite-certs
Deliverables: D1.2 (Architecture Specification, M6), D2.1 (Sealer Implementation, M8)
Verification: Interoperability tests with legacy systems (100% compatibility target)

SO3: LAWCHAIN Tamper-Evident Audit Spine (M1-M18)

Implement Merkle tree compaction for receipt batching (target: 256 manifests, up from 36)
Integrate external timestamping via RFC-3161 TSA providers (FreeTSA, DigiStamp, GlobalSign)
Deploy blockchain anchoring (Ethereum mainnet + Bitcoin OP_RETURN fallback)
Deliverables: D2.3 (TSA Integration, M14), D4.1 (Federation Router, M12)
Verification: 99%+ audit trail completeness (baseline: 85%)

SO4: Ψ-Field Anomaly Detection (M4-M16)

Develop collective intelligence service for cross-organizational anomaly detection
Achieve <10% false positive rate and >80% true positive rate via tunable thresholds
Deploy human-in-the-loop review dashboard for high-risk alerts
Deliverables: D3.1 (Ψ-Field Service v1.0, M10), D3.2 (Observability Dashboard, M14), D3.3 (Anomaly Detection Module, M16)
Verification: Pilot feedback + precision/recall metrics

SO5: Federation Router for Sovereign Data Exchange (M6-M18)

Implement mTLS peer-to-peer federation with quantum-safe key exchange
Deploy testbed with 15+ nodes across 3 countries (France, Czech Republic, Greece)
Develop trust profile specification for cross-organizational interoperability
Deliverables: D4.1 (Federation Router v1.0, M12), D4.2 (Testbed Deployment, M16), D4.3 (Trust Profiles, M18)
Verification: 100% peer-to-peer exchange (no third-party intermediaries)

SO6: Operational Pilot Validation (M12-M24) — TRL 4→6

Deploy across 3 pilot sites (France Public Digital Services, Czech Research Network, Greece Critical Infrastructure)
Validate 30% audit cost reduction vs. manual log review (measured in audit hours/incident)
Demonstrate 50% faster incident detection vs. current monitoring systems
Collect feedback from 15+ organizational peers (5 per pilot site)
Deliverables: D5.1 (Pilot Deployment Reports, M20), D5.2 (Standards Contributions, M22), D5.3 (Impact Assessment, M24)
Verification: Independent TRL audit by external evaluator (M24)

SO7: Standards Contributions & Open-Source Dissemination (M1-M24)

Submit 5+ standards drafts (ETSI TC CYBER, IETF CFRG, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27)
Publish 10+ peer-reviewed papers in top-tier venues (IEEE S&P, ACM CCS, USENIX Security)
Achieve 500+ open-source downloads post-M24 (GitHub, Docker Hub)
Conduct 3+ training workshops (1 per pilot region)
Deliverables: D5.2 (Standards Contributions, M22), D5.3 (Impact Assessment, M24)
Verification: DOI links, GitHub Insights, attendance lists

Alignment with Call Topic ECCC-06

Expected Outcome 1: "Quantum-safe cryptographic solutions for critical infrastructure" → Addressed by SO1-SO2: Integration of NIST-standardized PQC algorithms with hybrid transition ensuring backward compatibility

Expected Outcome 2: "TRL 6 validation in operational environments" → Addressed by SO6: 3 pilot deployments across France, Czech Republic, Greece with independent TRL audit

Expected Outcome 3: "Contribution to EU digital sovereignty and cybersecurity policy (NIS2, DORA)" → Addressed by SO3, SO5, SO7: LAWCHAIN audit spine for NIS2 Art. 21-23 compliance, federation for sovereign data exchange, standards contributions to ETSI/IETF

Expected Outcome 4: "Open science and standardization" → Addressed by SO7: All outputs under Apache 2.0, 5+ standards drafts, 10+ publications in open access

TRL Progression Strategy (4→6)

Current State (TRL 4 — Lab Validation):

VaultMesh node operational with 3,600+ classical cryptographic receipts
Merkle compaction (36 manifests), Ed25519 signatures, AES-256-GCM encryption
No PQC integration, no external anchoring (TSA/blockchain), no federation

Project Target (TRL 6 — Pilot Validation):

PQC algorithms integrated (Kyber, Dilithium, SPHINCS+) with hybrid mode
LAWCHAIN audit spine with RFC-3161 TSA + blockchain anchors (99%+ completeness)
Ψ-Field anomaly detection (<10% false positive rate)
Federation router operational (15+ nodes across 3 countries)
Validated across 3 operational pilot environments

TRL Milestones:

M6: TRL 4 → TRL 5 (integration complete, lab testing with synthetic data)
M12: TRL 5 maintained (testbed deployment, first pilot preparations)
M18: TRL 5 → TRL 6 (pilots operational, real-world data collection)
M24: TRL 6 validated (independent audit confirms operational readiness)

Link to EU Strategic Autonomy

Digital Sovereignty:

VaultMesh federation enables peer-to-peer data exchange without reliance on third-party cloud providers (US, CN)
100% EU-hosted infrastructure (Ireland, Czech Republic, Greece, France)
Open-source under Apache 2.0 (no vendor lock-in)

Quantum Threat Preparedness:

Hybrid PQC transition allows gradual migration (no forced infrastructure replacement)
Backward compatibility ensures continuity of operations during transition
NIST-standardized algorithms align with EU Cybersecurity Act requirements

Critical Infrastructure Protection:

NIS2 compliance (Art. 21: cybersecurity measures, Art. 23: incident notification)
DORA compliance (Art. 5-6: ICT risk management, Art. 17: incident reporting)
AI Act compliance (Art. 17: record-keeping for high-risk AI systems — relevant for Ψ-Field)

1.2 Relation to the Work Programme

Call Topic Text (ECCC-06): "Proposals should address quantum-safe cryptographic transition for European critical infrastructure sectors, demonstrating TRL 6 validation across at least 2 EU member states, with contributions to European standardization bodies (ETSI, IETF) and alignment with NIS2, DORA, and Cybersecurity Act requirements."

How VaultMesh Addresses Call Requirements

Quantum-Safe Cryptographic Transition: → WP2 (Proof & Anchoring) integrates NIST FIPS 203, 204, 205 algorithms → Hybrid mode (SO2) ensures gradual, backward-compatible migration

Critical Infrastructure Sectors: → Pilot sites cover 3 sectors: public administration (France), research networks (Czech Republic), critical infrastructure operators (Greece) → Cross-sector applicability: energy, finance, healthcare (future extensions)

TRL 6 Validation Across ≥2 Member States: → 3 member states (France, Czech Republic, Greece) — exceeds minimum requirement → Independent TRL audit at M24 (external evaluator)

Contributions to European Standardization Bodies: → WP5 (Pilots & Assessment) targets 5+ standards drafts:

ETSI TC CYBER: PQC migration guidelines for critical infrastructure
IETF CFRG: Hybrid key exchange mechanisms (X25519 + Kyber)
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27: Interoperability profiles for quantum-safe audit trails

Alignment with NIS2: → LAWCHAIN audit spine (SO3) provides tamper-evident logs for NIS2 Art. 23 (incident notification) → Ψ-Field anomaly detection (SO4) supports NIS2 Art. 21 (cybersecurity risk management)

Alignment with DORA: → LAWCHAIN (SO3) enables DORA Art. 17 compliance (ICT-related incident reporting) → Receipt-based audit trails provide non-repudiable evidence for financial sector regulators

Alignment with Cybersecurity Act: → PQC integration (SO1-SO2) addresses Annex II cybersecurity requirements (protection against known exploitable vulnerabilities) → Open-source approach (SO7) enables transparency and security-by-design

How VaultMesh Supports Hybrid-PQC Migration for EU Cybersecurity and Trustworthy AI

Gradual Migration Path (No "Forklift Upgrades"):

Dual signature mode (classical + PQC) allows organizations to validate PQC before full transition
Hybrid key exchange maintains interoperability with legacy systems
Estimated migration timeline: 2-3 years for typical organization (vs. 5-7 years for full replacement)

Trustworthy AI (Ψ-Field as Human-in-the-Loop Governance):

Ψ-Field anomaly detection includes human review dashboard for high-risk alerts
Aligns with AI Act Art. 14 (human oversight for high-risk AI systems)
Explainability layer (SHAP/LIME) ensures transparency of detection logic

Economic Impact:

€100K+ cost savings per organization via cryptographic governance (eliminates third-party certification)
30% audit cost reduction (measured in pilot benchmarks)
50% faster incident response (Ψ-Field early detection)

1.3 Concept and Methodology

Technical Architecture Overview

Figure 1: VaultMesh PQC Integration Architecture — TRL 4→6 Transition

Key Components (Left to Right in Diagram):

Current State (TRL 4): Classical cryptography (Ed25519, ECDSA, AES), existing VaultMesh node with 3,600+ receipts
Hybrid Transition Layer (TRL 5): Dual signatures, hybrid KEMs, composite certificates
Post-Quantum Target (TRL 6): CRYSTALS-Kyber, CRYSTALS-Dilithium, SPHINCS+
VaultMesh Core Organs: Receipt Engine, LAWCHAIN, Ψ-Field, Federation Router
External Trust Anchors: RFC-3161 TSA, Ethereum, Bitcoin
3 Pilot Sites: France (public services), Czech Republic (research network), Greece (critical infrastructure)

Methodology: Five Work Packages

WP1: Governance Framework (M1-M6) — VaultMesh Lead

Objective: Define requirements, architecture, proof schemas
Tasks:
- T1.1: Stakeholder requirements gathering (pilot sites, partners)
- T1.2: Architecture specification (hybrid PQC transition design)
- T1.3: Proof schema definitions (receipt formats, Merkle tree structures)
- T1.4: LAWCHAIN design (audit spine, external anchoring)
- T1.5: Ψ-Field specifications (anomaly detection rules, thresholds)
Deliverables: D1.1 (Requirements & Use Cases, M3), D1.2 (Architecture Specification, M6)
Milestone: M1 Requirements Review (M6) — steering committee approval

WP2: Proof & Anchoring (M1-M12) — Univ Brno Lead

Objective: Implement PQC sealer, verifier, and external anchoring
Tasks:
- T2.1: CRYSTALS-Kyber KEM integration (key encapsulation for federation)
- T2.2: CRYSTALS-Dilithium signature integration (receipt signing)
- T2.3: SPHINCS+ integration (stateless hash signatures for backups)
- T2.4: Sealer CLI tool (generate PQC-signed receipts)
- T2.5: Verifier CLI tool (verify receipt Merkle proofs)
- T2.6: RFC-3161 TSA integration (timestamp authority anchoring)
- T2.7: Blockchain anchoring (Ethereum mainnet, Bitcoin OP_RETURN)
Deliverables: D2.1 (Sealer Implementation, M8), D2.2 (Verifier CLI, M11), D2.3 (RFC-3161 TSA Integration, M14)
Milestone: M2 Proof Engine Demo (M12) — functional demonstration

WP3: Ψ-Field & Observability (M4-M16) — Cyber Trust Lead

Objective: Develop anomaly detection service and observability dashboard
Tasks:
- T3.1: Ψ-Field service architecture (collective sensing across federation)
- T3.2: Anomaly detection algorithms (statistical, ML-based)
- T3.3: Tunable threshold system (reduce false positives)
- T3.4: Human-in-the-loop review dashboard (web UI for alerts)
- T3.5: Observability dashboard (metrics, logs, receipt queries)
Deliverables: D3.1 (Ψ-Field Service v1.0, M10), D3.2 (Observability Dashboard, M14), D3.3 (Anomaly Detection Module, M16)
Milestone: M3 Ψ-Field Operational (M16) — deployed in testbed

WP4: Federation & Trust (M6-M18) — VaultMesh Lead

Objective: Implement federation router and deploy multi-node testbed
Tasks:
- T4.1: mTLS federation router (peer-to-peer secure channels)
- T4.2: Hybrid key exchange (X25519 + CRYSTALS-Kyber for handshakes)
- T4.3: Capability snapshots (node metadata exchange)
- T4.4: Testbed deployment (15+ nodes across 3 countries)
- T4.5: Trust profile specification (interoperability standards)
Deliverables: D4.1 (Federation Router v1.0, M12), D4.2 (Testbed Deployment, M16), D4.3 (Trust Profile Specification, M18)
Milestone: M4 Federation Live (M18) — 15+ nodes operational

WP5: Pilots & Assessment (M12-M24) — France Public Lead

Objective: Deploy pilots, validate TRL 6, assess impact, contribute to standards
Tasks:
- T5.1: Pilot site infrastructure preparation (M12-M14)
- T5.2: Pilot deployments (France, Czech Republic, Greece) (M14-M20)
- T5.3: Benchmarking (audit cost reduction, incident detection speed)
- T5.4: Standards drafts (ETSI, IETF, ISO)
- T5.5: Impact assessment & roadmap (exploitation plan)
Deliverables: D5.1 (Pilot Deployment Reports, M20), D5.2 (Standards Contributions, M22), D5.3 (Impact Assessment & Roadmap, M24)
Milestone: M5 Final Review (M24) — EU project completion

Risk Management Approach

15 identified risks across technical, organizational, financial, external categories (see Annex B: Risk Register for full details)

Top 3 Risks Requiring Active Management:

R01: NIST PQC Standards Change (Likelihood: M, Impact: M, Score: 4)
- Mitigation: Monitor NIST monthly, design modular crypto layer, budget 2 PM for updates
R04: Pilot Site Deployment Delays (Likelihood: M, Impact: M, Score: 4)
- Mitigation: Early pilot engagement (M1), infrastructure assessment (M6), sandbox fallback
R08: Ψ-Field False Positives (Likelihood: M, Impact: M, Score: 4)
- Mitigation: Tunable thresholds, human-in-the-loop review, pilot feedback loop

Overall Risk Profile: MODERATE (weighted average score: 2.9/9) Contingency Budget: €280K (10% of €2.8M total) Review Process: Monthly risk register updates in steering committee

1.4 Ambition

Novelty Beyond State-of-the-Art

Current State-of-the-Art (PQC Research):

NIST PQC finalists standardized (2024): Kyber, Dilithium, SPHINCS+
Academic prototypes: LibOQS, Open Quantum Safe project
Limited real-world deployments: mostly theoretical or isolated lab tests

VaultMesh Innovation (5 Novel Contributions):

1. Quantum-Resistant Federation Protocol

Gap: Existing PQC implementations focus on single-node encryption; no production-ready federation protocols
VaultMesh: Hybrid mTLS with X25519 + CRYSTALS-Kyber for peer-to-peer sovereign data exchange
Impact: Enables cross-organizational PQC without centralized key management

2. Proof-Driven Audit Spine (LAWCHAIN)

Gap: Current audit systems lack cryptographic tamper-evidence; rely on centralized logs (mutable)
VaultMesh: Merkle-rooted receipts + RFC-3161 TSA + blockchain anchors = non-repudiable audit trail
Impact: 99%+ audit trail completeness (baseline: 85% for traditional systems)

3. Ψ-Field Collective Intelligence

Gap: Anomaly detection is organization-siloed; no cross-organizational threat intelligence sharing with privacy
VaultMesh: Federated anomaly detection across multiple organizations (collective sensing without raw data exposure)
Impact: Faster threat detection (50%+ improvement) via cross-org pattern recognition

4. Measurable Audit Cost Reduction (-30%)

Gap: PQC research focuses on cryptographic performance; no studies quantify operational cost savings
VaultMesh: Pilot benchmarks measure audit hours/incident before vs. after LAWCHAIN deployment
Impact: €100K+ cost savings per organization (eliminates third-party certification)

5. Hybrid Transition Playbook for EU Critical Infrastructure

Gap: NIST provides algorithm specs; no practical migration guides for operational systems
VaultMesh: Dual signature mode + backward compatibility + pilot validation = replicable blueprint
Impact: Reduces migration timeline from 5-7 years to 2-3 years for typical organization

Measurable Ambition (18 Quantitative KPIs)

Reference: KPI Dashboard (PQC_KPI_Dashboard.md) — full table in Part B Section 2.1

Key Targets:

Excellence: TRL 4→6 (external audit), 10+ top-tier publications, 5+ standards drafts (ETSI/IETF/ISO)
Impact: 30% audit cost reduction, 50% faster incident detection, 500+ open-source downloads post-M24, 15+ federation nodes across 3 countries
Implementation: 100% deliverable on-time (13/13), ≤10% budget variance, ≥90% steering attendance

Verification Methods:

Independent TRL audit (M24)
Pilot benchmarks (D5.1): audit hours/incident, incident detection time
GitHub Insights (downloads, stars, forks)
Standards body submission confirmations (ETSI, IETF, ISO)

Expected Scientific Impact

Publications (Target: 10+):

IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (IEEE S&P)
ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (ACM CCS)
USENIX Security Symposium
Cryptology ePrint Archive (pre-prints)

Topics:

Hybrid PQC key exchange protocols (T4.2)
Federated anomaly detection with differential privacy (T3.2)
Merkle-based audit trails for critical infrastructure (T2.5)
TRL 6 validation case studies (T5.3)

Open-Source Contributions (Target: 500+ downloads):

GitHub repos: vaultmesh-sealer, vaultmesh-verifier, psi-field-service, federation-router
Apache 2.0 license (no vendor lock-in)
Docker images for easy deployment
Documentation: runbooks, API specs, deployment guides

Link to KPI Dashboard (18 Quantitative KPIs)

See: PQC_KPI_Dashboard.md for full table

Summary Table (Excellence KPIs):

KPI ID	Metric	Baseline	Target (M24)	Verification
E1	TRL Level	4	6	External TRL audit
E2	PQC Algorithms Integrated	0	3 (Kyber, Dilithium, SPHINCS+)	Code repository tags
E3	Publications	0	10+ (top-tier venues)	DOI links
E4	Standards Drafts	0	5+ (ETSI/IETF/ISO)	Draft IDs
E5	Receipt Throughput	1,000/day	10,000/day	Benchmark tests (D2.2)

All 18 KPIs detailed in Part B Section 2.1 (Impact).

Document Control:

Version: 1.0-PART-B-EXCELLENCE
Date: 2025-11-06
Owner: VaultMesh Technologies B.V. (Coordinator)
Section Lead: VaultMesh (with input from all partners)
Status: Draft — Ready for Partner Review (Week 2-3)
Related: PQC_Architecture_EU_Reviewer.mmd (Figure 1), PQC_KPI_Dashboard.md, PQC_Risk_Register.md (Annex B)

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