site.btaElectronic Governance Minister in Brussels: Cyber Threats Spilling over into Real World

Cyber threats are no longer virtual; they spill over into the real world, disrupting hospitals, transportation systems, factories, and public services, Bulgarian Electronic Governance Minister Valentin Mundrov said in Brussels on Saturday. "The question is not whether, but how societies can be resilient to these combined hybrid crises. New approaches are needed that combine cybersecurity, civil protection, technological independence, and crisis preparedness," he said, as quoted by the Electronic Governance Ministry. He was speaking at the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (Telecommunications) meeting.

According to Mundrov, overcoming cyber threats and building a sustainable digital Europe is possible only through sharing and active communication. He said that for Bulgaria, sharing experience with EU Member States is key because it speeds up response times, reduces systemic risk, increases trust in the system, and builds a common European culture of resilience. 

In recent years, Bulgaria has gained valuable experience from various cyber incidents in the financial, health, telecommunications, and administrative sectors. These incidents revealed various vulnerabilities in integrated coordination, he noted.