Address Mr George Michaelides Commissioner of Electronic Communications & Postal Regulation , Republic of Cyprus
Address Mr George Michaelides Commissioner of Electronic Communications & Postal Regulation , Republic of Cyprus
It is with great pleasure that I welcome the initiative of the organizers to host this conference in Cyprus .
The maritime sector is traditionally important for Cyprus economy while the oil and natural gas industry is gaining major importance to Cyprus , following the recent developments in the exploration of these energy resources . The conference addresses the very important issue of securing the maritime , the oil and natural gas infrastructures and systems from cyber threads and cyber-attacks , which have transitioned from the theoretical level to the inevitable .
Recent years have shown that cyber threats are growing rapidly , spreading in all industry sectors which progressively more and more rely on ICT systems . For this reason the issues of network and information security are part of the wider information society framework , and security is considered an important pillar of the Digital Agenda for Europe . Cybersecurity issues are very high in the European Union ’ s agenda , the following policy , strategy and legislative related matters have been concluded :
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The new regulation of ENISA entered into force in September 2013
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The new cybersecurity strategy of the European Union , which was published in February 2013
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New NIS directive ( exp . 18 May ).
n the same context , regarding the Critical Information Infrastructure Protection ( CIIP ), the Council has examined the policy and subsequent actions including decisions on security issues and in particular the protection of Critical Information Infrastructure ( CIIP ), encouraging effective collaboration between public and private actors in Member States , and third countries , and the exchange of information and good practices between Member States . The Commission ’ s ( DG CONECT ) most recent communication on Critical Information Infrastructure Protection ( CIIP ) draws attention to the steady growth , in the number , scope , sophistication and potential impact of threats , natural or man-made , to European Critical Information Infrastructures . It brings forward achievements , and next steps towards global cybersecurity by structurally addressing cyber risk and Critical Information Infrastructure Protection , focussing first on the energy and transport sectors .
Additionally , efforts were also undertaken by the Director General for Mobility and Transport ( DG MOVE ) along with the European Maritime Safety Agency ( EMSA ) to facilitate secure data exchange between Member States ’ maritime authorities , through the SAFE-SEA-NET platform .
Furthermore , a very important development is the upcoming NIS Directive . Last December , the European Council and the European Parliament reached a political agreement on the new Directive on Network and Information Security ( NIS directive ). The Directive is expected to be officially published within May 2016 .
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