Skopos Security Labs BV Secures EU Funding To Protect Romania’s Galati Port From Cyber Threats

Skopos Security Labs BV has secured backing from the EU Horizon 2020 / SecurIT programme to secure the Port of Galati in Romania

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, September 28, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Skopos Security Labs BV today announced that it has secured backing from the EU Horizon 2020 programme, a flagship €80 billion research and innovation programme – the largest collaborative project of its kind in the European Union.

The funding is granted by the SecurIT programme and will be used to equip subcontractors of the Port of Galati in Romania (the port operator’s supply chain partner BeiA) to achieve compliance with cybersecurity regulations.

The Skopos platform was selected for its capacity to deliver a continuous holistic cyber risk audit, including advice on threat mitigation. Tests cover employees’ cyber awareness, phishing threats and breached data, endpoint software risks, and internal network scans.

The Port of Galati receives insights on cyber risks, mitigations and progress at board level. Skopos monitors their vendors in the supply chain 24×7, 365 days a year. The accountant delivers cyber compliancy reporting to the board based on Skopos data.

Changing Threat Landscape

Today’s board members struggle to understand if their organisation is safe against cyber-attacks. The threat continues to increase with time; Deloitte reckons that the number of cyber-attacks across the EU increased by around 220% between 2020 and 2021.

Against this background, cybersecurity regulations EU-wide are set to be tightened up further over the next year with the NIS2 regulations. However, the CyberSec2SME project was especially timely considering that Galati is the main port in southeast Romania used for grain transit.

It is a key transit point for Ukrainian grain exports to Mediterranean countries. The port famously reopened its broad-gauge railway line in July 2022 to more easily accept freight from war-hit Ukraine via the Republic of Moldova.

NIS2: What’s New?

The implementation of NIS2 raises the stakes for businesses of all types. The new legislation will see board members held personally accountable for security breaches and liable to punitive fines and other harsh penalties.

NIS2 revises the original NIS directive, which was adopted by the European institutions in July 2016 with the aim of securing critical and sensitive infrastructures in EU member states. NIS1 was the first piece of EU-wide legislation on cybersecurity.

Next year, the inclusion of other sectors like waste management, postal services, chemical production and distribution and agrifood sectors will raise the number of sectors covered. In practice, however, NIS2 will bring about a tenfold increase in the number of stakeholders classified as operators of essential services (OESs).

Cyber Compliancy Reporting: The Future for Accountants

The future of accountancy & audit is increasingly moving online. Concerns about data privacy and cybersecurity problems are inherently increasing. Accountancy regulation (ISA) and the European NIS2 regulation will also bring new changes for accountants. Here is how Skopos enables accountants:
● Broaden services offering with dashboard, reporting, and factual findings
● Extend added value to clients with management letters and audit reports
● An improved understanding of IT risks, which helps to audit annual accounts

Willemijn van de Lagemaat describes the benefits of continuous auditing: “In the field of cybersecurity, scare tactics are commonplace. However, at Skopos, we don't like scaring people. We believe that most users are smart. All they need is clarity and decent insight into their risks and embark on the right course of action.”

About Skopos

Founded in 2019, Skopos is on a mission to make cybersecurity simple, affordable and actionable for SMEs, accountants and IT. Founders Bas van den Berg and Han Veldwijk have been working together on technology since high school – first from their garage, then in their respective careers as Information Security Specialist at Achmea and manager Fintech at Rabobank and Lloyds Banking.

The duo formed Skopos after realising that SMEs feel cyber security is over-complicated.

Skopos gives board members assurance on the information security of their organisation with continuous auditing, monthly executive reporting and yearly independent assurance from experienced accountants. Skopos.AI is used by customers in the Netherlands, Western Europe and beyond and is praised for its simplicity.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101005292. If you would like to learn more about the Skopos project in the Port of Galati, you can check out https://skopos.ai/blog/skopos-ai-secures-critical-eu-infrastructure-with-horizon2020-funding/.

Willemijn van de Lagemaat
Skopos.AI
press@skopos.ai
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