site.btaBulgaria Developing Centralized Cybersecurity System

Speaking at a meeting with European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva in Brussels, e-Government Minister Valentin Mundrov said that Bulgaria is building a centralized national cybersecurity system that will safeguard national security and data sovereignty, the e-Government Ministry said on Friday. The meeting took place during Mundrov’s participation in the EU Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council in Brussels.

Mundrov and Zaharieva agreed that the Ministry should act as the coordinating authority for protecting national systems, including in the context of high-risk technologies. The talks focused on key topics related to the development of digital services, EU innovation policies and the strategic role of cybersecurity for the competitiveness of Bulgaria’s information technology (IT) sector.

Mundrov said that cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important and requires long-term vision and coordination at both national and European level. 

The discussion also highlighted progress on the EU Digital Identity Wallet, which is the national mobile application for European electronic identity. “We need to accelerate work on the digital wallet. For the Ministry of e-Government, this is a top priority, and the application must be ready next year,” Mundrov said. Commissioner Zaharieva noted that the digital wallet is one of the most important tools for completing the European single market and emphasized the importance of investment in IT.

European initiatives on technological sovereignty, the development of a European cloud infrastructure and the need to harmonize cybersecurity rules were also discussed. “Europe must develop its own technologies it can rely on. Bulgaria has strong potential, and Bulgarian companies can be fully competitive in this field,” Mundrov said. He also informed the Commissioner about the outcomes of the European Summit on Digital Sovereignty held in Berlin, where the largest European, and third-largest global, software provider expressed interest in investing in Bulgaria.

Another topic was the transposition of the NIS2 Directive in Bulgaria, with amendments to the Cybersecurity Act identified as a sector priority. Mundrov outlined the work of the National computer security incident response team, which monitors and analyses cyber threats, supports cybersecurity training and preparedness, and participates in international cyber exercises.