George Michaelides on Cyprus’ key role in Europe’s cybersecurity push

Cyprus’ Digital Security Authority (DSA) has been pretty busy of late, playing a key role in a number of EU funded Cybersecurity projects.

“Cyprus is a strong partner in Europe’s cybersecurity push,” Commissioner of Communications George Michaelides told CBN. “We are a very active member in European projects, we are the No.2 in terms of allocation of funds from our National Coordination Center (an EU mechanism for allocating funds to boost Cybersecurity in the MS). We are also playing an active role in interfacing with the non-EU regional countries.”

In addition to the recently-unveiled CY-TRUST – a platform that will see the creation of Sectorial Security Operations Centres (Sectorial SOCs) for energy, maritime, government and SMEs/Business – DSA is also involved in the projects ATHENA and SecAwarenessTruss.

ATHENA, a €10m project, aims to establish a europeAn THreat intelligence, rEspoNse and prepAredness platform, encompassing the national cybersecurity authorities of Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria, and Malta. “This is one of the first 2 platforms of its kind in the European Union and the Cyprus DSA is leading this effort,” Michaelides explained. “It will enhance the prediction, prevention, detection and esponse capabilities of member states against existing and new cyber-attacks,” he further explained.

SecAwarenessTruss, a €3.5m EU project, aims to develop skilled cybersecurity workforce. As Michaelides elaborated: SecAwarenessTruss will deliver a customised federated cybersecurity range platform that will offer systematic and innovative training programs targeting Critical Infrastructure organisations for cyber defence and collaborative response.

• Read more: CY-TRUST: The project underway to boost Cyprus’ defence against cyber threats

Furthermore, Michaelides said the EU can also use the DSA’s regional ICT Academy, which was founded in December 2023, for capacity building. “As we speak, we are running a course with ESDC (European Security & Defense Collage) with more than 40 participants from 9 countries regarding the CSIRT Fundamentals,” the Commissioner revealed.

A very important effort for Cyprus and its economy

Asked how important this effort is for Cyprus and its economy, Michaelides responded: “It is very important since apart from attracting funding to the Cyprus Cybersecurity ecosystem, we are facilitating cooperation of the Cyprus entities with others as well as building new knowhow for them.”

The DSA has indeed been very active to this end. “It is worth mentioning that between the years 2017-2027, it is expected to participate in projects worth about to €73m, out of which €21.5m will be given to Cyprus. Out of this, €12.4m will be allocated to the Digital Security Authority, and €7.5m of this will be the clear contribution of the EU to DSA,” the Commissioner concluded.