The National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NCC-RO) hosted the NCC Day event on Wednesday at the Palace of Parliament, under the High Patronage of the President of the Romanian Senate.
According to a press release from the Authority for the Digitalisation of Romania (ADR), the event brought together representatives of the Network of National Coordination Centres (NCC) from all EU Member States, Moldova and Ukraine, representatives of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC) in industry, technology and research, as well as guests from national and European institutions for coordination, strategic dialogue and the exchange of best practices.
By hosting this event, NCC-RO strengthens its role as a national reference point within the European cybersecurity ecosystem, highlighting the importance of close cooperation with European partners in the field of cybersecurity, ADR noted.
The day's agenda included opening sessions and institutional updates highlighting the latest developments within the ECCC and its working groups, followed by a panel on the future of the ECCC and the integration of the ATLAS platform, presentations on European funding calls (Digital Europe Programme - DEP and Horizon Europe), and working group sessions on topics of interest to the NCC community.
'The European Cybersecurity Competence Centre, together with a network of National Coordination Centres, forms an ecosystem that strengthens cybersecurity, supports excellence in research and stimulates the competitiveness of the European Union's industry in this field. The role of Romania's National Coordination Centre is essential. It brings together European policies, funding and innovation with the business environment, universities, research institutes and the public sector. In many ways, it represents the link that keeps everything together. I thank you and truly appreciate the strong cooperation we have built. Romania has enormous potential to become a European hub for cybersecurity, supported by a unique combination of technical expertise, strategic positioning and digital infrastructure,' Senate President Mircea Abrudean said in a message sent to participants.
On the sidelines of the event, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between NCC Romania (NCC-RO) and the National Coordination Centre of Croatia (NCC-HR), represented by CARNET - the Croatian Academic and Research Network. The document was signed by Ana-Maria Busoniu, Director General of NCC-RO, and Hrvoje Puljiz, CEO of CARNET.
The partnership aims to exchange best practices in cybersecurity, strengthen cross-border cooperation between national communities and organise joint activities to support SMEs in adopting and implementing the European cybersecurity framework, including the requirements of the Cyber Resilience Act and the NIS2 Directive. It will also contribute to achieving the objectives of the Digital Europe Programme and strengthening cooperation within the NCC network through structured collaboration between the two centres.
'By organising NCC Day, we reaffirm NCC Romania's commitment to supporting European cooperation within the NCC Network and to transforming strategic dialogue into concrete actions with impact for national communities and for cyber resilience at European level,' Ana-Maria Busoniu said.
For her part, Vladka Marcan, head of NCC Croatia, noted that this structured collaboration within the NCC Network will allow both centres to act more effectively, transforming European objectives into practical solutions for citizens and organisations. 'We are convinced that, by working together, Croatia and Romania will become pillars of stability and innovation in the region's cybersecurity landscape,' Marcan stressed.
Speakers at the event included Luca Tagliaretti, Executive Director of the ECCC, Hilda O Riain, President of the NCC Network, Polis Peratikos, Vice-President of the NCC Network, alongside other European experts who provided strategic perspectives at European level.
'The NCC Day event in Bucharest demonstrates that our strength lies in unity and in the ability to bring innovation closer to local communities. We are pleased to see our community growing steadily, a clear indicator being the success of the ATLAS platform,' said Luca Tagliaretti.
The programme also included a presentation dedicated to the impact of new technologies on cybersecurity, delivered by Silviu Sofronie, head of Adversary Intelligence at Bitdefender, titled 'Cybersecurity in the Age of Agentic AI', offering participants insights into emerging challenges generated by the evolution of artificial intelligence and digital technologies.
During the final session, participants consolidated the conclusions and established the next steps. A process to elect the Vice-President of the NCC Network was also conducted, highlighting the shared commitment to the collaborative leadership of the network in the future.
'The NCC Day event is part of the cooperation and capacity-building activities carried out under the project Strengthening the capacities of the National Coordination Centre NCC-RO' (Grant Agreement No. 101227737). This project, co-funded by the European Union through the Digital Europe Programme, supports cooperation mechanisms between NCC Romania, the ECCC and the National Coordination Centres of Member States, facilitating the exchange of best practices and the alignment of national strategies with European objectives in the field of cybersecurity. The project funded under Grant Agreement No. 101227737 is supported by the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre for industry, technology and research,' the press release said.
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