Prometheus Manifesto: a Collective Response to Cyber Threats Posed by Autonomous AI

Twelve Dutch public and private organisations are building a collective ‘digital defence’ capability that evolves alongside AI. Under the name Prometheus, a joint, market-neutral facility is being developed to help organisations assess and strengthen their software, systems and digital supply chains more quickly.

Today, the partners presented their manifesto 'Faster Together Than the Threat' to State Secretary Willemijn Aerdts of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Sovereignty. The manifesto is a joint response to the growing cyber threat posed by AI and calls on organisations to join the movement towards a faster and more collective approach to digital defence.

Responding to an accelerating threat

AI is changing the speed and scale of cyber attacks. Recent incidents have shown that AI-powered systems are increasingly capable of carrying out complex attack activities with limited human intervention.

For organisations in critical sectors, the challenge extends beyond their own systems. Their digital resilience also depends on suppliers, service providers and other partners in the digital supply chain. A vulnerability in one organisation can therefore have consequences across an entire sector.

Prometheus brings together organisations from industry, government and the knowledge sector to develop and test practical solutions for this changing threat landscape.

First pilot focuses on AI-driven software security

The first step towards Prometheus is a joint pilot focused on AI-driven software security. The partners will identify what organisations need, what solutions are already available and where there are still gaps.

Users, cybersecurity companies, technology partners and knowledge institutions will work together on practical use cases and test environments. Solutions that demonstrate their value will be deployed and scaled, creating a basis for a longer-term capability that can continue to evolve alongside AI and new cyber threats.

The twelve organisations currently leading the Prometheus initiative are: TNO, ESET, AISLE, Hadrian, SIG, Northwave, Schuberg Philis, DIVD, NS, NCSC, NCTV, VUSec (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam).

The collaboration will be expanded with additional partners that can contribute knowledge, technology, infrastructure, capacity or practical use cases.

Strengthening the digital supply chain

For critical sectors such as railways, strengthening the wider digital supply chain is an important part of the initiative.

“For critical sectors such as railways, the threat from autonomous AI is no longer theoretical,” says Dimitri van Zantvliet, Director of Cybersecurity at NS. “One vulnerable link in the digital supply chain can affect the continuity of an entire sector. Prometheus can help bring AI-powered defence to the entire chain, including organisations that cannot develop these capabilities themselves.”

The initiative will initially focus on essential and important entities before extending its reach to other sectors, including SMEs that often do not have the resources to develop advanced cybersecurity capabilities themselves.

Manifest co-signatories

In addition to the twelve organisations leading Prometheus, the following organisations are the co-signatories of the 'Faster Together Than the Threat' manifesto: ABN AMRO, Security Delta (HSD), Innovatiecoalitie Cyberveilige Energietransitie, ACCSS, EBZ, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, INTERSCT, Prio, CCRC, Neuromorphic Computing NL, FME, NiDV, Centrum voor Veiligheid en Digitalisering (CVD), Mondai, KYVVU, CyberVeilig Nederland, Techleap, FERM, UWV, CISO Community, ROM NL and SURF.

The co-signatories support the ambition to strengthen collective digital resilience and contribute to the further development and adoption of AI-driven cyber defence.

Connecting Dutch and European initiatives

Prometheus is a public-private initiative under the umbrella of Digital Holland, focused on innovation at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity. The initiative also connects to the European Commission’s Action Plan on Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence, presented in July 2026.

The ambition is to develop and test solutions in the Netherlands while building connections with European partners. In the longer term, Prometheus aims to contribute to a digital infrastructure where security can evolve at the same speed and scale as AI itself, with security increasingly built into software and systems from the outset.

National Growth Fund & Role HSD

HSD also signed this manifesto and is taking the initiative to work with the Prometheus working group and other partners towards a proposal for the National Growth Fund.