site.btaDigitization, Cybersecurity Forum Takes Place in Sofia

A roundtable discussion on digitization, cybersecurity and local governance took place on Tuesday at the University of National and World Economy (UNWE) in Sofia. The event brought together representatives from academia, executive and local government, who discussed issues related to digitization and digital protection.

The forum is organized by the Union for Private Economic Enterprise, Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA), Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of e-Government, Executive Agency Bulgarian Accreditation Service, National Association of the Municipalities in Bulgaria, National Assembly of Students' Councils of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Student Council at the UNWE, in cooperation with the Department of National and Regional Security at the UNWE.

The caretaker Minister of Economy and Industry Nikola Stoyanov highlighted the importance of the digital transformation process being linked to cybersecurity, especially in the context of recent geopolitical developments. "When we talk about digital transformation, it is important to remember cybersecurity. If the pandemic encouraged us to switch to digitization fast, now the conflict in Ukraine motivates us, especially at national institutional level, to consider cybersecurity more seriously. The two topics must absolutely go together," Stoyanov said at the forum.

The Minister pointed out that the issue of digitization is important for the Bulgarian economy, as this transformation would allow the economy to catch up with the lag generated over the last decade. He reiterated that under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, EUR 1.6 billion, or about a quarter of the money under the Plan, is earmarked for digital transformation, digitization and investment. Stoyanov said that one of the most important lessons taught by the pandemic in 2020 was that investment and digitization efforts were vital.

The caretaker Deputy Minister of Tourism Mariela Modeva said that her Ministry plans to create an electronic register of all Bulgarian exhibitors at expositions abroad. "This is an important channel for the showcasing of businesses and for our country to be promoted as a year-round tourist destination," Modeva said.

Modeva talked about a project for a unified digital map of Bulgaria, built of modules, so that finished products can be easily added to it. The goal is to present Bulgaria as a tourist destination in a digital environment. The Deputy Minister pointed to itineraries of the geographic wonders of Bulgaria as a possible module of the digital map.

Modeva noted that her Ministry has already developed and published on its website interactive information graphs with data generated by the Unified Tourist Information System and the National Statistical Institute on trends in the tourism sector.

Nikolay Minev, director of e-government system components at the Ministry of e-Government, said that there are more than 1,080 electronic administrative services that can be centrally requested and provided electronically, or at least information about the outcome of the services can be obtained through the eGov portal.

The need to provide paper certificates, assurances and other documents has passed, with over 200 million internal e-administrative services requested from one administration to another and at least 200 million sheets of paper weighing over 1,000 tonnes saved this way, Minev said.

Centralized payment of obligations is possible through a centralized virtual point-of-sale terminal. This practice makes remittance charges and commissions to service providers redundant. Being able to pay with credit and debit cards issued outside Bulgaria is also open, because many Bulgarians live abroad but continue to have relations with the state, the expert shared.

Minev gave the example of the partnership with the Ministry of Tourism regarding the need to register accommodation for Ukrainian refugees. The service was set up in two weeks. Some 3,500 accommodation places were registered in a matter of days.

BIA Vice President Mariya Mincheva said that it is essential for businesses to have fast and efficient access to electronic administrative services, as well as for this data to be reliably secured and protected. Mincheva spoke about two cases when the state failed to provide such security - the collapse of the Commercial Register and the data leaked by the National Revenue Agency.

Mincheva's association has been campaigning for years to have an electronic employment record and added that there is ongoing communication with the Social Security Department on the issue. She pointed out that the delay in the digitalisation policy traditionally puts Bulgaria in last or penultimate place in the penetration of these processes according to various indices. In her words, the same applies to our digital skills, which explains the low level of cyber security and knowledge of its necessity.

Mincheva pointed out that the delay in the digitization policy traditionally various polls place Bulgaria last or second-to-last in terms of penetration of these processes. In her words, the same applies to Bulgarians' digital skills.