Cyprus will be the first country in the European Union to open a regional certification center for cybersecurity.
This was announced the other day by the Commissioner for Communications in Cyprus, Yiorgos Michailidis, during the regular meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Financial Questions.
The Regional Cybersecurity Certification Center will report to the Digital Security Authority, which was established by the Cabinet of Ministers in 2019 in response to a relevant EU regulation. By a government decision dated December 21, 2021, the Digital Security Authority was granted the status of National Cybersecurity Coordination Center of the Republic of Cyprus (NCCC-CY)
At the same time, it was originally planned that Cyprus would apply for cybersecurity certificates in neighboring EU countries. However, in November 2023, the government decided to create a special structure on the island to serve the entire region. Thus, Cyprus is ahead of many countries on this matter.
It should be noted that currently there are such centers only in Germany and France. However, they are based on local standards, not European standards, as it is planned to do in Cyprus. Michailidis mentioned that the Cyprus center already has even one client. It is an international private company, which will be the first to receive a European certificate once the center becomes operational.