Romanian presidency of EU Council putting cybersecurity at heart of Digital Agenda (official)

Cybersecurity is at the heart of the concerns in the European Union's Digital Agenda under the Romanian presidency of the Council of the European Union, and one of the files Romania is managing in this area is the establishment of a European Cybersecurity Competence Centre, Romania's Minister of Communications and Information Society Alexandru Petrescu told AGERPRES on Wednesday while attending the official opening of the CyberDrill 2019 event at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest. "I do not think there was a better place than the Polytechnic University of Bucharest to have such a five-day event with an important academic participation, and also with the participation of the European institutions, the business sector from over 17 countries. This is an event included in the portfolio of events under the aegis of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the European Union. Cybersecurity is at the heart of the European Union's concerns with the Digital Agenda, as reflected by Romania during this period not only in this event, where we want to raise awareness, but also in the concern to have more citizens, more SMEs understand the importance of cybersecurity mitigation measures. In the end, the EU member states are strong against cybersecurity threats, but also vulnerable at the same time. So, we must equally prioritise everything regarding cybersecurity measures, because we live in a world where these incidents are on an upward trend, no doubt about it. There are examples of good administrative practice in other countries, and I mean Israel, which was and is a source of inspiration for assembling an administrative configuration that would serve today's risks in the area of cybersecurity," Petrescu said. He added that Romania is managing two very important cybersecurity cases while holding the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union: the Digital Europe Programme and the establishment of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre. "During its tenure, Romania is managing two very important cybersecurity-focused files, one of which is the Digital Europe Program, which is effectively a 9.2 billion euro funding program, of which two billion are focused on cybersecurity. There is a second file that we have taken up from a start-up stage and that is already shaping up in the final lines: the establishment of the European Cybersecuirty Competence Centre. A centre that once will be the expression of the European Union's transition from a diagnostic cybersecurity policy approach to a proactive, research-development-centered prophylactic approach that can be immediately transferred to the first line of cybersecurity battles. We have divided this file into two components: first, in order to avoid disputes between member states, we agreed on the administrative capacity of the centre, and in the immediate future we will consider its location, the opportune time to set it up, and all the other elements that make up the actual establishment of this centre. We, Romania, will deliver at the end of the six months of our presidency of the Council of the European Union well-defined files from all points of view, with a discussion on location that has already begun," the minister said. Romania's Ministry of Communications and Information Society (MCSI) organises the Bucharest CyberDrill event May 27 - 31 in partnership with the Polytechnic University of Bucharest (UPB) and under the aegis of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, at UPB. Organised within the framework of the ITU Regional Initiative for Europe on enhancing trust and confidence in the use of ICTs, Bucharest CyberDrill is an ample event that includes cybersecurity training and for companies, a conference with international participation from over 17 countries and a presentation of various scenarios involving the most common types of cyberattacks. Cyber Drill is an exercise of regional significance in the area of cyber security attended by international experts that test, develop and implement skill to protect against cyberattacks. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Badea, editor: Mariana Nica; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)