Press Releases

It gives me great pleasure to be with you today, joined by cybersecurity experts, practitioners and business stakeholders from Cyprus and Poland. A warm welcome to everyone joining us from abroad and congratulations to the organisers for the great initiative. This is a vision of a world that pools its strengths, capacities and diversity to tackle the biggest challenges ahead. And cybersecurity is definitely amongst the greatest ones. 

I read an interview by the Ambassador recently, on what Cyprus has to gain from Poland’s tech revolution, with specific mention of Cybersecurity and I do hope this is the case; Poland’s tech sector I understand represents 8% of the GDP, in Cyprus it now stands at 10% of the GDP. Ee all have to gain from each other, especially in domains like Cybersecurity. 

As we continue to embrace the digital age, our reliance on technology grows, making cybersecurity a critical component of our daily lives, our businesses, and our national security. A recent McKinsey & Company survey has projected a meteoric rise in the global cybersecurity market, with expectations set to hit a staggering $2 trillion by 2025. As cyber threats evolve in complexity and scale, and with AI changing the game, robust strategies are needed to ensure the resilience and security of our information systems and our overall business infrastructure. 

Today, every state and every organisation is at risk of a cyber-attack. To rise to the challenge and effectively protect its digital assets, Cyprus, through the Deputy Ministry and in collaboration with the Digital Security Authority, has already put in place a number of protection and response mechanisms and policies to prevent and counteract cyberattacks in the public and private sectors. We are working towards a legislation to adopt the new European directive NIS2, through which the number of critical infrastructures increases significantly. 

To respond to the challenge, inter alia, we have established a national CSIRT, a response team providing 24/7 service -in the form of alerts and warnings as well as incident management- to all operators of essential services and critical information infrastructures of the country, while also having installed cyber sensors for early warning and critical infrastructure protection. Cyprus has also recently launched the National Cyber Security Coordination Centre which provides support to SMEs to improve their level of resilience and build cybersecurity capacity, facilitating knowledge transfer and forming a strong Cybersecurity Community. At the Deputy Ministry, we have also embedded cyber security practices in service delivery, right from the design phase, making sure all systems and digital public services are developed and deployed following a secure-by-design approach. 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Cyprus is currently in the process of further enhancing its National Cybersecurity Strategy, building on previous experiences, successes and lessons learnt. To this end, we are focusing on four primary objectives: 

First, optimising our cyber security framework to provide comprehensive protection for essential services and infrastructures across all sectors, amongst them energy, transport, health, and telecommunications, while integrating this framework into both public and private sector entities to ensure a unified approach to cybersecurity. In this context, enhanced cooperation and coordination among ecosystem stakeholders is key to safeguarding the continuity of critical operations. 

Second, we place great emphasis on capacity building across the supply chain, providing financial incentives to SMEs to bolster their cybersecurity capabilities, strengthening risk assessment and compliance processes to ensure every link in the chain adheres to rigorous security standards

Enhancing skills in the labour market and addressing the talent shortage in cybersecurity experts is also of paramount importance, and common challenges for all of us. As our world becomes increasingly digital, the demand for cybersecurity professionals has skyrocketed. Every industry, from finance to healthcare to government, relies on secure digital systems to protect sensitive data and maintain operations. Through targeted training and certification programs, we aim to help existing IT professionals transition into cybersecurity roles, while keeping current experts up-to-date with the latest skills. 

Last but not least, we are committed to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the area of cybersecurity, supporting the local research and innovation ecosystem through mentoring and funding, and creating a business environment that is conducive to innovation. To this end, establishing collaboration networks among government agencies, private companies, and academic institutions can be very beneficial, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and resources and enabling fresh and unique approaches in a field where new threats emerge constantly.  This is where sharing knowledge and expertise with other Countries is particularly important. 

As we gather here today, it is also important to recognise the achievements of Poland in the digital and innovation domains over the past decade. Poland has made significant strides both in digital transformation -in general, and in advancing cybersecurity technologies and practices in particular, contributing to the global effort to secure the digital realm. 

As we continue to build on these premise –from both sides–, I urge all stakeholders to prioritise services related to securing the IT infrastructure within corporations and institutions against various external online threats and to explore collaboration opportunities. 

Our goal is for Cyprus to become a regional leader and a hub in cybersecurity services, and be able to provide a secure and trustworthy digital environment that benefits all users, the economy, and our nation as a whole. 

In closing, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to address this distinguished gathering and look forward to the fruitful discussions and new partnerships that will emerge from this forum. Together, we can achieve a safer and more resilient cyberspace. 

Thank you. 

(ΝΖ/AP)