Reducing Cyber Threats: A New Erasmus+ Project for Senior Digital Safety in Bulgaria and Poland

A recent EU digital skills report found that just 38% of people in Bulgaria have at least basic digital skills, one of the lowest rates in the EU and well below the EU average of 60%. As everyday life keeps moving online, older adults in particular still need real, hands-on support to build safe digital habits.

That’s the gap the MCT project sets out to close: “Reducing Cyber Threats: Increasing Awareness and Digital Competence Among Seniors,” funded through Erasmus+ KA210-ADU (Small-scale Partnerships in Adult Education).

Behind it are two partner organisations, Cerca Trova Ltd in Bulgaria (project coordinator) and the “Fundusz Inicjatyw” Foundation in Poland, working together to help seniors use the internet and digital tools more safely, and to sharpen the skills of the educators who support them.

The project is building a free MOOC and a set of practical learning materials on spotting suspicious messages and websites, protecting personal data, securing accounts and passwords, and using online services safely, all grounded in situations seniors actually run into online.

When it comes to online safety specifically, the gap is just as wide: only 55% of people in Bulgaria have basic digital safety skills, compared with nearly 75% across the EU.

A handful of simple habits make a real difference: check who is really contacting you, look closely at a website address before clicking, ask what data a service genuinely needs, and never act while under pressure.

Work on the materials is already underway, and once finished they will be put to use in local training sessions for at least 12 seniors, six each in Poland and Bulgaria. Follow along, the finished materials will be shared online for free.

Funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ Programme, KA210-ADU, Small-scale Partnerships in Adult Education, project “Reducing Cyber Threats: Increasing Awareness and Digital Competence Among Seniors”, grant agreement No 2025-1-BG01-KA210-ADU-000349580.

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC). Neither the European Union nor HRDC can be held responsible for them.