Modern conflicts take place both on the battlefield and in cyberspace, and Romanian authorities must strengthen their cybersecurity capabilities not only at the central level, but in each major public institution, said Lucian Leizeriuc, head of the Cybersecurity and Incident Response team at the Ministry of Interior (MAI), on Tuesday, at the Bucharest Cybersecurity Conference (BCC2025).
"At the national level, the Romanian Ministry of Interior is responsible for ensuring and restoring public order, border security, managing emergency situations, protecting critical infrastructure and operating databases that serve the public interest. This makes our IT&C infrastructure a favourite target for cybercriminals. In recent years, especially since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we have faced the full spectrum of cyber threats: from phishing and fraud campaigns to sophisticated attacks that exploit zero-day vulnerabilities to extract sensitive data. Some campaigns have been directly related to the war: waves of DDoS attacks, reconnaissance operations, vulnerability scans and highly targeted spear phishing attempts. The unprovoked war against Ukraine reminded us that, today, modern conflicts take place both on the battlefield and in cyberspace. In addition to missiles and drones, Ukraine has endured relentless cyberattacks on government institutions, energy networks, financial systems and communications: from malware to massive DDoS campaigns and compromises of the software supply chain, these attacks are aimed at paralyzing the country even before the first tank crosses the border," Leizeriuc said.
According to the MAI representative, Ukraine's experience serves Romania as both a warning and an inspiration. He noted, thus, that Ukraine limited the attacks because its response was coordinated immediately.
"Romanian authorities need to strengthen their cybersecurity capabilities not only at the central level, but in every major public institution. Also, innovation is essential. Ukraine has moved services to the cloud, decentralised systems, and used Artificial Intelligence to detect anomalies and disinformation. For Romania, where the digitalisation of public services is accelerating, this is a vital lesson. Digitalisation without security creates new vulnerabilities, but digitalisation with security is the path to true resilience. Plus, the conflict has shown the importance of cross-border cooperation. Ukraine survived because allies and private companies shared infrastructure, information, and expertise. No country can stand alone. Romania must continue to invest in partnerships, joint exercises, and information exchange," the specialist noted.
In terms of disaster recovery plans and business continuity, these become essential. At the same time, according to the MAI representative, without close cooperation between the public and private sectors, resilience is impossible.
"Ultimately, public-private partnerships are crucial. In Ukraine, private technology companies defended government systems alongside agencies. Without close cooperation between the public and private sectors, resilience is impossible," Lucian Leizeriuc said.
The National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC), with the support of the National Coordination Centre of Romania (NCC-RO) and the National Association for Information Systems Security (ANSSI), is organizing, from October 6 to 9, the 2025 edition of the Bucharest Cybersecurity Conference (BCC2025).
The National News Agency AGERPRES is one of the media partners of the event.
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