- Cybersecurity
The AOC participates in the conference "Cybersecurity beyond protection"
The Cybersecurity Agency of Catalonia and the Localret Consortium have presented the actions planned within the framework of the RETECH initiative to strengthen the digital protection of 68 local entities with an investment of more than 3 million euros. These actions will be articulated through an agreement with Localret, which will allow resources to be channeled and technical and regulatory support measures to be deployed.
You can retrieve the video of the session:
The first action is the assessment of the degree of exposure to cyber threats of the 23 town halls with more than 50.000 inhabitants, the four provincial councils, 40 regional councils and the Conselh Generau d'Aran. The diagnosis will involve an investment of almost 2 million euros. This action to strengthen digital security in local entities has been made known among representatives of the local world at the presentation event held on Friday, June 20 in the Administrative District.
The director of the Cybersecurity Agency of Catalonia, Laura Knight, has insisted on the importance of collaboration as a key element to make cyber protection effective throughout the territory. “Today we take a step forward together with Localret to improve cybersecurity and protect citizens' data in a context of growing cyber risks and digital transformation of public services.” During 2024, the Agency managed 112 incidents related to the local world.
For its part, Andrew Francisco, director of Localret, highlighted that his role is to be alongside local administrations to face this great challenge: “Our mission is to accompany city councils in the digital transformation of their municipalities and, together with the Cybersecurity Agency of Catalonia, we are facing a challenge that will have a significant impact on the security of the largest local administrations in the country.”
Creation of a coordination office
Among the actions, it is envisaged to create a coordination office to deploy the Comprehensive Cybersecurity Model in the local world. This office will lead the development of diagnostics and security plans for each entity, and will promote a second block of training and awareness-raising actions aimed at technical teams and political leaders.
The action also aims to strengthen the Catalan cybersecurity sector. The objective is for specialized companies to work to implement the measures and adapt the solutions to the specific needs of the local administration.
Finally, in the third line of action, the Agency will support local entities so that they adapt to the National Security Scheme (ENS) and can obtain certification of conformity to the ENS through the Agency's Technical Audit Body (OAT).
All these actions have the support of theNational Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE), an entity that depends on the Ministry for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service in the framework of Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and are financed with the Next Generation Fund of the European Union.