Neurosoft Cybersecurity Day #2: The imperative implementation of NIS 2 as a cooperation lever between the Private and Public sectors

Neurosoft successfully organized the “Neurosoft Cybersecurity Day” event for the second year in a row. This year’s event, “Neurosoft Cybersecurity Day #2: Emerging Risks. Next-Gen Defenses,” took place on March 7 at Plexi Space. Representatives of the Ministry of Digital Governance and the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) attended the event, as did important executives in the field. The aim of the event was to point out current developments and challenges that will shape the Cybersecurity field in 2024.

In light of the upcoming implementation of the European regulatory framework NIS 2 on October 17, 2024, to address advanced cyber threats that are increasingly disrupting the operation and growth of organizations, this event provided a valuable platform for discussing the evolving landscape of cybersecurity through engaging and fruitful discussions with leading experts:

• Mischievous cyberattacks are becoming increasingly common, disrupting organizations’ smooth operations as our significant member George Corres, Cyber Security Director of Neurosoft, underlined playfully in his welcome speech. It is crucial to cooperate and embed security by design in all related systems and applications to prevent such attacks and all the collateral damage.
• Georgia Bafoutsou, Cyber Security Officer at ENISA, during her presentation stated the incidents that led to the creation of the new NIS 2 Directive and highlighted its most critical points in the context of the policy followed by the EU.
• Ioannis Alexakis, Head of the Directorate for Cybersecurity Strategic Planning of the Ministry of Digital Governance, highlighted the high economic cost of cybercrime and its significant social consequences. This, in turn, drives both the public and private sector to collaborate and establish an effective cybersecurity strategy that will foster businesses’ confidence during the digital transition. “We are all together in this. The key is to collaborate and foster trust-based relationships,” he stated.
• Giannis Malafekas introduced our Third Party Risk Management Program, a Managed Service that aims to automate and streamline the Supply Chain risk management needs of organizations in the current regulatory environment.
• Ilias Polychroniadis presented Neurosoft’s OT Security Service, which unfolds its extraordinary potential starting with a comprehensive OT Security Assessment. This solution can be integrated into our SOC service, Neutrify, ensuring continuous monitoring and malicious activity detection. Moreover, he analyzed the benefits of a SASE architecture for organizations, to enhance secure efficiency for remote users.

• Our first panel discussion, “New directives and regulations: Challenges & Solutions”, brought in focus how compliance strategies and best practices related to the European NIS 2 Directive affect various business sectors. Thomas Dompridis, General Directorate of Cyber Security of the Ministry of Digital Government stressed the importance of evaluating organizations’ readiness and maturity to implement a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy in line with the NIS 2 regulatory framework. The National Cyber Security Authority aims to establish a national cybersecurity network that will connect protected networks of individual organizations, creating a secure national digital ecosystem. Nevertheless, “organizations should take immediate action based on a thorough understanding of the high risk they face, rather than simply complying with NIS 2 due to pressure. It is a significant investment for businesses and not a loss of money”, as he commented. Additionally, the other panel members (George Sotiropoulos – Information Security Director @QUALCO, Nikos Niskopoulos, Information Security & Data Protection Officer @Vodafone, Anna Vazintari, ICT Manager @Unisea Shipping, Panagiotis Skyrlas – Chief International Expansion Officer @Novibet) emphasized that Managed Service Providers (MSPs) appear to be a necessary solution for building a digitally secure society, as the shortage of cybersecurity experts conflicts with the growing demand for cybersecurity services. However, the necessity of cooperation with university institutions to attract talent in the field of Cybersecurity, but also the creative solutions for their retention was prioritized.

• Our second panel discussion, “SecOPS Evolution – Next Generation SOC Unveiled”, focused on the unique possibilities offered by SecOPS Evolution and Next Generation in the field of prevention and real-time response to Cyber threats. Next Generation SOC with all its now components -automation, SOAR, MDR- offers a holistic, customizable, complete security solution that is robust, agile and adaptive to the latest threats for both IT and OT environments. (Panel members: Georgia Anastasiou   ̶ Cyber & Information Security Director @OPAP, Lefteris Tzelepis  ̶ CISO @Steelmet/Viochalco Companies, Dionisis Kottaridis ̶ ICT Security Manager @SNFCC, Panagiotis Gkotsis  ̶ IT Manager @Dorian LPG, Babis Kalevrosoglou  ̶ Managed Security Services Manager @Neurosoft)

“The fluidity of the cybersecurity sector, due to the rapid developments that characterize it, is both the biggest challenge and charm for us. It challenges us to adapt, innovate and, above all, collaborate to stay one step ahead of emerging digital threats, building a more secure and resilient future for business and society” stated the CEO of Neurosoft, Nodas Paschalidis, closing the event. “No one can achieve alone what we can achieve together“.