Italy announced its Cybersecurity Agency

Italy announced the creation of the national cybersecurity agency, a move aimed at increase the level of cyber security of its infrastructure

The Italian government has announced the creation of a new agency focused on cybersecurity, Prime Minister Mario Draghi provided its strong commitment to the creation of the agency that is tasked to protect the country and its infrastructure from cyber threats.

The news was announced yesterday, the new agency was approved during a cabinet meeting and represents an important step in the process of enhancing the resilience of the country to cyber threats and improve the information sharing on cyber threats with EU members and western allies.

[The new agency] will “protect national interests and the resilience of services and essential functions of the State from cyber threats,” read a statement released by the Italian government.

Draghi already expressed concerns about the cyber security posture of the country and urged the adoption of countermeasures against cyber threats.

“We need to strengthen ourselves, we need to strengthen ourselves a lot, especially in terms of cybersecurity, all of us, at national level and at EU level… because the level of [Russian] interference both with spies and with manipulation of the web has become truly alarming,” Draghi said at the end of May following a European Union summit.

The new Italian cybersecurity agency will develop and implement cyber strategies to prevent, monitor, detect and mitigate cyber attacks, and increase the level of cyber security of the country’ infrastructures.

The cybersecurity agency will initially employ 300 experts, it will also include the national Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) and will be tasked to launch the National Centre for the Validation and Certification (CVCN).

The agency, which according to media reports will employ around 300 people, will be controlled by Draghi and his security services advisor Franco Gabrielli.

Draghi is introducing important changes in the structure of the national intelligence, in May he named Elisabetta Belloni, a career diplomat, to lead Italy’s secret services agency DIS.

Who will be the head of the new cyber agency?

According to Italian media, Roberto Baldoni, acting currently as Deputy Director General at Presidency of Ministry Council of Italy in charge of National Cybersecurity, is a possible candidate along with Nunzia Ciardi, the head of the internet police.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, cybersecurity agency)

---