The digital state is growing and therefore cybersecurity is now becoming a matter of state security and sovereignty, Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Nicodemos Damianou said on Thursday, addressing the 1st World Cybersecurity Summit.
He underlined that resilience in cyberspace is a necessary parameter to enable companies to derive the maximum benefits from digital evolution and for states to build a resilient and competitive digital economy. Cybersecurity, he noted, is a prerequisite for digital policy.
Damianou went on to say that the rapid technological developments and the dependence on technology leads to a growing and urgent need to protect data, systems and digital infrastructure.
The Deputy Minister referred to a survey by the Digital Security Authority between October and November 2023, which showed that one in two businesses in Cyprus had experienced some sort of cyber attack in the previous 12 months, with an average of one attack per week. Similarly, 53% of citizens wer
e attacked during that time period.
In his address, Damianou pointed out that the use of artificial intelligence makes dealing with cyber-attacks even more difficult, as a malicious software can evolve and attack an infrastructure and bypass patterns and mechanisms of defense systems. At the same time, he noted, we use artificial intelligence in cyber defense systems and tools.
Greek Minister of Digital Governance Dimitris Papastergiou addressed the Summit via a video conference. He said that the use of AI creates a completely new reality. He said that the Greek government has established, last December, the Digital Assistant, which constitutes the first use of artificial intelligence in the Greek public administration.
He also referred to the efforts underway for the legislation on a national security authority.
Communications Commissioner George Michaelides said in his address that the cyber threat environment is developing, as malicious actors have managed to exploit artificial intelligence, changing t
he field of cyber security.
He said that technology is being used to compensate for the lack of manpower in the field of cyber security.
Rossella Mattioli, an expert at the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), referred to the agency’s actions to promote awareness on this critical issue, but also to exchange know-how.
Source: Cyprus News Agency