site.bta10% of Companies Polled in Bulgaria during European Cybersecurity Month Report Losses Due to Cyber Attacks

Ten per cent of the companies polled in Bulgaria during the European Cybersecurity Month said they have sustained losses caused by cyber attacks, according to data of the E-Governance Ministry presented at a roundtable on Tuesday.

The roundtable was attended by representatives of the business, institutions, and NGOs and was held on the occasion of the European Cybersecurity Month. The participants discussed the state of play of cybersecurity and cyber protection in the business sector. 

Deputy E-Governance Minister Blagovest Kirilov said that there is no system that is 100% secure against cyber attacks but that prevention and risk management are crucial. 

More than 70 companies took part in the poll conducted by the E-Governance Ministry. Some 60% of the respondents said they run system security tests although 44% reported being targeted by cyber attacks. More than half of the respondents in the poll provide cybersecurity training to their staff. Ten per cent said they have sustained losses due to online attacks. Cyber attacks in 2022 increased by 20% compared to the previous year. 

Deputy E-Governance Minister Atanas Maznev said that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility and stressed its crucial importance for the security of the people, the business and the institutions. Maznev presented the initiatives  of the Ministry to promote the European Cybersecurity Month in Bulgaria and the series of activities and events held on the topic of cyber security and cyber hygiene. 

Peter Kirkov, Director of the Network and Information Security Directorate in the E-Governance Ministry, reminded companies who have been targeted by cyber attacks to alert the National CERT Centre. Kirkov is also Bulgaria's national cybersecurity coordinator. 

Kalin Marinov of the Innovations and Growth Ministry presented a procedure for ICT and cybersecurity solutions for SMEs. Marinov said that future procedures for approval of financing under various programmes are likely to include a requirement for applicants to have a certain cybersecurity level. Furthermore, this could become an assessment criterion. 

Tuesday's roundtable was hosted by the Prof. Tsvetan Lazarov Defence Institute with the Defence Ministry. 

All of the participants in the forum urged for better interaction between the academic community, the business and the government institutions to improve people's skills in the area of cybersecurity. Special stress was laid on the need for cybersecurity training of managers.