Digital governance minister signs grant agreement with ECCC for ‘flagship’ Security Operations Centre

Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou on Thursday signed a grant agreement with the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC) to finance the creation and operation of a unified Security Operations Centre (SOC), which he described as a “flagship project for enhancing cybersecurity in Greece.”

The grant agreement is being implemented in the framework of the Digital Europe funding programme, with half of the project’s 9.7-million-euro budget covered by European funds and the remainder from available national funds.

“The grant agreement creates the foundation for implementing a flagship project. The Unified SOC will decisively assist in strengthening Greece’s digital transition, enhancing the cyber resilience of crucial public and private organisations and, of course, the safe daily use of the internet by the citizens,” Papastergiou said.

The project will be implemented through the collaboration of the ministry’s National Cyber Security Authority and a number of Greek research and private bodies active in this area. The Unified SOC will provde Greece with a strategically important technical infrastructure and valuable knowhow in preventing and countering malicious cyber activities. It will also provide free services for protecting the interconnected digital systems of public and private organisations.

In addition, through its participation in a group of other EU member-states (Cyprus, Malta, Bulgaria) for the development of equivalent cross-border infrastructure, Greece will also take the lead in implementing a “European cybersecurity shield” that protects Greek cyberspace and crucial national infrastructure from contemporary threats.

The Unified SOC will seek to increase cybersecurity competence in Greece using modern AI and machine learning tools, serving as the centre of an SOC national network that is able to have a comprehensive image of the overall level of cybersecurity in the country.

Papastergiou also referred to the strategy for cybersecurity at the conference Cyber Greece 2023 – AI and Cybersecurity: Innovation and Challenges. During a press conference he spoke about the country’s harmonisation with EU directives (NIS 2) on cybersecurity and what is required.