Security News > 2021 > June > Italy Sets Up Cybersecurity Agency After Russia Warnings
Italy has created a national cybersecurity agency following warnings by Prime Minister Mario Draghi that Europe needed to protect itself from Russian "Interference."
The new agency was approved in a cabinet meeting late on Thursday.
"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," he said.
The Italian government tasked the new agency with developing strategies to prevent, monitor, detect and mitigate cyber attacks, and stepping up national defences.
The premier still needs to appoint the head of the new cybersecurity agency.
The Corriere della Sera named Roberto Baldoni, a computer engineering professor who already works on cybersecurity with intelligence services, and Nunzia Ciardi, head of the internet police, as the top candidates.