European Democracy
Resilience Network

Strengthening civil society response to cyber and information manipulation threats.

About EDRN

The European Democracy Resilience Network (EDRN) is a blueprint initiative co-created with civil society organisations working to protect democratic spaces. EDRN strengthens the defensive capabilities of these organisations against digital threats and hybrid attacks, especially those combining cyber tactics and information manipulation. The project aims to help CSOs detect, understand, and mitigate targeting efforts, including forms of foreign interference that aim to disrupt their missions and undermine public trust. EDRN is an initiative from the CyberPeace Institute, EU DisinfoLab, and Qurium.

At its core, the EDRN blueprint combines approaches to disinformation resilience with cybersecurity insights from the CyberPeace Builders programme. This ensures the model is both strategic and operational: it builds long-term resilience while giving CSOs access to real, immediate cybersecurity assistance from vetted experts.

Initial outreach drew strong interest, with more than 30 organisations attending the kick-off to share their experience and expertise. Eligible participants were briefed on how to access CyberPeace Builders, which provides immediate cybersecurity assistance to participating organisations.

Why it matters

Findings from our baseline survey and kick-off discussions show that:

79%

of organisations have been targeted by disinformation or reputational attacks.

Over half

lack structured incident tracking or systematic monitoring.

10%

have a formal response plan in place.

These results demonstrate that CSOs face complex hybrid threats but often lack access to affordable tools and expertise. By integrating cybersecurity assistance through CyberPeace Builders and a shared dashboard examining information manipultation, EDRN aims to bridge this resilience gap in real time.

The Blueprint

The EDRN Blueprint is being co-designed with participating CSOs to define what practical, sustainable resilience looks like for the democratic sector.

It builds on the experiences of 30+ organisations who took part in the kick-off workshop, sharing their challenges, needs, and solutions.

Monitor

detect emerging disinformation narratives and hybrid digital threats.

Respond

coordinate with peers through shared playbooks, alerts, and reporting systems.

Build capacity

access tailored cybersecurity support and digital risk training.

The Timeline

Outreach & onboarding

August 2025

Expressions of interest; onboarding into CyberPeace Builders.

Kick-Off Workshop

15 September 2025

Survey results, breakout discussions, and a mock-up dashboard as a starting point; 30+ organisations attended.
EDRN Kick-Off Workshop Summary report

EU DisinfoLab Conference lunch session (Ljubljana)

October 2025

Sharing early insights and practical guidance.

Working Groups

Oct–Dec 2025

Social media monitoring & weak signals
Shared resources & access to support
Threat intelligence & trends
Risk assessment & crisis comms

Presentation of the Draft EDRN Blueprint

January 2026

Co-created with CSO feedback.

Funding & MVP

2026 onward

Move from blueprint to a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) reflecting real CSO needs.

European Democracy Resilience Network