The European Center for Cognitive Security (ECCS) is an independent, non-profit research centre established in France. It connects strategic research on cognitive, informational and emerging-technology threats with the practical needs of civilian prevention, protection and response.

ECCS examines cognitive warfare, information warfare and influence operations; neurowarfare, neurotechnology and neurosecurity; artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. Its distinctive focus is how related methods, knowledge and technologies may be adapted, transferred or misused in civilian settings, including for illicit, criminal, coercive or commercially abusive purposes. The Center studies how risks and harms may manifest at individual, organisational and societal levels, and how evidence-based approaches to identification, assessment, prevention, protection and response can be developed.

This work is interdisciplinary by design. Within ECCS, criminologists, sociologists, cognitive and social psychologists, cybersecurity and computing specialists, professionals with law-enforcement experience and researchers in security studies and related fields work under a shared institutional mission. Together, they connect behavioural and individual-level analysis with technology assessment, crime analysis, institutional response and societal resilience.

ECCS works to translate research into usable methods and resources through the development of analytical and risk-assessment methodologies, prevention frameworks, professional training, decision-support tools and policy recommendations. The aim is to help institutions, decision-makers and frontline professionals identify and assess emerging risks and develop proportionate, evidence-based and rights-respecting preventive and protective responses.

The Center gives particular attention to young people, people in vulnerable situations, victims and communities that may be especially exposed to manipulation, coercion, exploitation or technology-enabled victimisation.

ECCS’s work is grounded in scientific integrity, fundamental rights, human dignity, research ethics and data protection. The Center distinguishes established facts from claims or allegations, analytical inferences and hypotheses, and communicates clearly the limits of available evidence and the degree of certainty of its conclusions.