Greece is creating a national cybersecurity organization to combat hackers and ransomware gangs that target governments, public institutions, utilities, schools, hospitals and businesses.
A proposal to create a National Cyber Security Authority to protect the public sector and private businesses in sectors including manufacturing, chemical distribution and food is reportedly being sent to Parliament by the New York government. Democracy.
The proposal, presented by the Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou, proposes to create a national cybersecurity authority. Until now, the Ministry of Digital Governance had a department dedicated to cybersecurity.
National Cybersecurity Authority of Greece
THE National Cybersecurity Authority will be created as a legal entity under public law, according to the bill proposed by the Ministry of Digital Governance. The country’s integrated framework of policies, activities and measures to achieve a high level of cyber security would be coordinated, implemented and supervised by the new Authority.
Under the leadership of the Minister of Digital Governance, the National Cybersecurity The Authority will serve as the exclusive and effective organization responsible for creating and executing the national cybersecurity strategy in collaboration with other relevant authorities.
The aim is to develop Greece’s cybersecurity ecosystem and the successful prevention and management of cyberattacks.
Incidents highlighting the importance of the national cybersecurity authority
At the end of November, hackers stole hundreds of files from University of the Aegean and published them on the dark web. This is just the latest in a series of cyberattacks against Greek government agencies.
The Greek state’s real estate asset manager, Hellenic public properties Co. (HPPCC), was the most recent victim; other targets included the Ministry of Culture and Sports and the data bank that processed exam questions. This will only apply in 2023. The Greek Post Office, two hospitals and state natural gas operator DESFA were among the 2022 casualties.
Reason behind the creation of a national cybersecurity authority
Through the new arrangement, the nation will be able to meet certain national requirements and EU commitmentssuch as:
- Strengthen the capacities of the National Cybersecurity Authority and its operational and supervisory roles with regard to the execution of Directive 2022/2555 (NIS2 Directive). It is highlighted that there would be a significant increase in the number of supervised entities in the public and commercial sectors following the adoption of the aforementioned regulation. Around 70 entities are covered by the NIS 1 directive; however, if NIS 2 is incorporated into Greek law, the number of entities will reach more than 2,000. The Authority will serve as both a national coordination center and a national certification authority for cybersecurity.
- Maintain public and business trust in digital services.
- Institutional and technological defenses against online attacks and general improvement of the country’s cybersecurity.
- Encourage investment in cybersecurity and improve the ability to obtain European funding.
- Strengthen the digital innovation ecosystem.
- Advance cybersecurity awareness and education and improve digital cybersecurity capabilities.
So that the National Cybersecurity Authority improves the level of supervision, information and support of the actors involved in the cybersecurity field and create an environment with secure infrastructure in response to pressing national needs as well as imperative commitments made by the EU, the Bill is an essential first step.
The guidelines state that medium-sized companies with more than 50 employees and a balance sheet of more than €10 million qualify. Nonetheless, it is inevitable that the standards for a business to be covered by cybersecurity will only increase over time.
This initiative to create a national cybersecurity authority highlights the growing global emphasis on cyber resilience and the critical role of national cybersecurity entities in safeguarding it. digital infrastructure.
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