Mr Costas Efthymiou
Technical Affairs Officer , Office of the Commissioner of Electronic Communications & Postal Regulation
Costas Efthymiou is an Officer of Technical Affairs at the Office of the Commissioner of Electronic Communications and Postal Regulation ( OCECPR ). He is a communications systems , networks and information security specialist with over 13 years of experience in communications network and security research , development and regulation , including working on multiple European Research Programmes and development of national cybersecurity strategy . He has extensive knowledge of information security , privacy techniques , MAC , networking and transport layer protocols as applied to wired networks , cellular networks , wireless local area networks , sensor networks and smart metering / grids . In his current position , his responsibilities include coordinating the development and implementation of a number of National Cybersecurity Strategy and Critical Information Infrastructure Protection actions , with representation of Cyprus in key European fora for national information security development ( ENISA , participation in European Forum for Member States and Cyber Crisis Exercise Planning ). He is also actively developing national risk assessment and contingency planning for cyber crises . He holds the CISSP , CEH and PMP professional certifications , and is a member of a number of professional bodies ( IET , IEEE , ( ISC ) 2 , PMI , ISACA , CCS , ETEK ).
“ Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity – The Government Perspective ”
The rapidly rising importance of information and cyber security in recent years is unmistakable and this trend is only set to continue , even to accelerate . We can no longer really talk of a clear distinction between the cyber and physical worlds ; cyber-physical systems , such as those found in most Critical Infrastructures today , are so intertwined with our daily lives , that a serious cyber incident has the potential to affect large parts of the population at multiple levels . The proliferation of cyber attacks and the continuing arms race between the ' good guys ' and the ' bad guys ' necessitates bold moves by governments across the world to provide the tools and capacity to effectively prevent and combat such cyber attacks . This presentation will discuss the Cyprus Government approach to the protection of critical information infrastructures , through a national cybersecurity strategy . It will make the case for the importance of a holisic approach that includes a national level risk assessment and a number of other related actions , in order to maximise the response to such threats on a national level and to ensure the smooth operation and availability of vital societal functions .