SCAF-DOME is a short-term initiative funded under the Horizon Europe Programme and linked to the CyberSecDome framework, which advances cybersecurity through AI-enabled security capabilities and immersive incident investigation and response concepts.
Launched in June 2025, SCAF-DOME focuses on evaluating cybersecurity tools through controlled cyberattack simulations in a realistic technical environment, tailored to fact-checking operations. Athens Technology Center (ATC) implements the project and performs the technical work, including the design of test scenarios, the setup of the evaluation environment, the definition of attack scenarios, alongside the integration and validation of security components.
Building a realistic fact-checking testbed
A key milestone has been the deployment of a replicated, EDMO-like fact-checking infrastructure, aligned with real operational conditions (including the replication of platform services used in practice). The environment has been stabilized and prepared for evaluation activities, with core services deployed, monitoring enabled, and secure communication established with the CyberSecDome ecosystem. This setup provides a practical basis for observing how security tools behave during different types of cyber incidents.
Cyberattack scenarios and tool validation
In parallel, ATC has defined a structured set of cyberattack scenarios reflecting common threat patterns . These include, indicatively, denial-of-service attacks, brute-force attempts, port scanning activities, and supply-chain-oriented scenarios, each described with clear objectives, execution steps, targeted components, and expected observable effects across network, system, and application layers.
CyberSecDome security components have been integrated at an operational level to support data collection, correlation, and analysis during simulations. The evaluation focuses on measurable indicators such as detection accuracy, false-positive rates, prediction quality, and the effectiveness of visualisation and situational awareness outputs.
With the successful completion of SCAF-DOME, all planned controlled simulations were carried out end-to-end, allowing the integrated cybersecurity tools to be benchmarked under realistic fact-checking conditions. The project delivers a validated and scalable security approach that strengthens the resilience of modern fact-checking ecosystems.
