Greece Cyber Security Strategy

The Greek government has created the National Cyber Security Authority (NCSA) to safeguard the digital transformation of the country from growing cyber threats and implement a national cybersecurity strategy. The strategy, published on December 7, 2020, defines the objectives, priorities, policy, and regulatory measures needed to secure the public and the private sectors and critical Infrastructures. 

The Ministry of Digital Governance announced their collaboration with the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) on electronic identification, cybersecurity certification, cybersecurity of cloud computing, Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence.

As in other countries, Greece has seen a growing number of cyber-attacks, which have made the implementation of the national cybersecurity program a top priority. Recent attacks on critical infrastructure include a publicized attack on the National Gas System Operator (DESFA) which operates Greece’s national natural gas system, impacting the availability of certain systems, and a cyber-attack that brought down the Hellenic Post (ELTA) computer systems and temporarily suspended the commercial information systems of all post offices.

To proactively cope with new threats, and in line with the new regulations that the EU is issuing in assessing risk to public and private sectors as well as critical infrastructure, the National Cyber Security Authority (NCSA) is planning a series of audits for the entire public sector and for the National Critical Infrastructures. Consequently, the NCSA has issued the cybersecurity maturity assessment framework, a self-assessment tool to document the security status of critical ICT infrastructures and implement improvement plans.

There are strong opportunities for U.S. cybersecurity solutions to support projects, with security software, services, and infrastructure being deployed in organizations of all types and sizes.  The demand for security comes primarily from three major segments that comprise the Greek market: the government, private sector, and critical infrastructure companies. 

Managing digital transformation risks in banking and financial services is leading the demand for holistic cybersecurity solutions in the private sector, followed by critical infrastructure entities in energy, transport, water, healthcare, digital authorities, digital service providers and cloud computing services. 

Major industries are moving to the next stage of evolution in converging operational and business systems, with the introduction of robotics and Internet of Things (IoT) into their operations, exposing their enterprises to a vast array of cyber risks that demand unified strategies to address cyber security systematically across the business and operations.

For more information, contact the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA):  https://www.enisa.europa.eu/  or the The National Cyber Security Authority (NCSA): https://mindigital.gr/kyvernoasfaleia 

To learn more about cybersecurity opportunities in Greece please contact ICT Specialist Nikos Papachryssanthopoulos at Nikos.Papachrys@trade.gov