Pedro Sánchez announces the creation of the National Cybersecurity Centre, attached to the Presidency of the Government

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during his speech at the closing ceremony of the 19th International Conference on Information Security (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

Pedro Sánchez has announced the creation of the National Cybersecurity Centre, attached to the Presidency of the Government, to "reinforce the coordination and strength of the Spanish system" of cybersecurity, which aims to "protect our democracy and the security of our countries in such a complex geopolitical context as the current one".

The President made these statements during the closing ceremony of the 19^th edition of the International Meeting on Information Security (ENISE), organised by the Spanish National Institute for Cybersecurity (INCIBE), in León, where he insisted that one of the challenges facing Spanish society is the need to respond "forcefully" to the threats posed by digitalisation, "which jeopardise the security of Spanish companies and citizens as a whole". "We have to do it with more determination, with more awareness and, of course, with more resources than ever before", he added, and in this context, he discussed the Industrial and Technological Plan for Security and Defence approved this year, which "allocates one out of every 10 euros to cybersecurity".

He went on to explain that this means allocating to cybersecurity "1,157 million euros of the over 10 billion euros that we have increased in order to respond to the commitment made by Spain in 2014 to reach 2% of our defence budget when we talk about the Gross Domestic Product, and the conceptualisation of the plan, not only as a defence plan, but as an industrial and technological plan for security and defence." "More importantly, over 80% of that volume is already in the pipeline", he highlighted.

The four pillars of the Spanish cybersecurity system

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, greets a military officer at the closing ceremony of the 19th International Meeting on Information Security | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

The Chief Executive emphasised that Spain "is doing its homework in the field of cybersecurity" and "is prepared like no other country" to face the threats of the cyber world, since "our capabilities are above the European average" in this area, something that "is not the result of chance, but is the result of a successful strategy that combines anticipation with the promotion of cooperation between the public and private sectors". He also pointed out that the Spanish model in this area "minimises risks and responds in a coordinated manner to threats" and is "based on four pillars".

Firstly, he highlighted "a robust, internationally recognised Legal and Organisational Governance Framework". In this regard, he assured that Spain is among the countries most committed to cybersecurity in the world, classified as TIER 1 in the latest Global Cybersecurity Index published by the International Telecommunications Union, and Spain has benchmark institutions, such as the INCIBE, the National Cryptologic Centre and the Joint Cyberspace Command. He also referred to the review already underway of the National Cybersecurity Strategy and the 2026 Digital Spain Plan.

Secondly, Sánchez pointed to the "reinforcement of the protection of critical infrastructures", such as health, energy, water and digital administration. "We must protect them with every guarantee. We cannot scrimp a single euro on this, because these are infrastructures whose protection is essential for the daily lives of millions of people." Hence the importance of projects such as the 5G Security Operations Centre, endowed with 15 million euros of European funds, to monitor mobile networks and connected devices.

The third pillar of the Spanish cybersecurity system is focused on "defending the productive fabric and citizen assistance" and here "the work of the INCIBE is fundamental", Sánchez explained, as this centre does an extraordinary job of supporting companies, professionals and private citizens who are victims of impersonation or cyber-scams. The President also stressed the need to "make a firm commitment to self-protection", especially with "more training and prevention", and reiterated that, in the same vein, 11 agreements have been signed with universities, such as the University of Salamanca, which already has a chair on artificial intelligence applied to cyber-defence.

Fourthly, the Chief Executive referred to "strengthening the technological innovation ecosystem". Thus, he highlighted the fact that Spain has an extraordinary telecommunications infrastructure; Spain is a leader in the European Union in terms of fast fibre connection, with a 5G network that will reach 100% of the Spanish population by 2026; it is the second country in the world with the most cybersecurity centres, and it participates in strategic projects that reinforce Spanish technological sovereignty, such as the submarine cables that link the country with the United States and Africa.

The cybersecurity industry generates over 3 billion euros per year

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during his speech at the closing ceremony of the 19th International Conference on Information Security | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

During his speech, Sánchez emphasised that, this week, the International Monetary Fund has once again revised upwards the growth forecast for the Spanish economy, because "Spain inspires confidence" and he expressed his conviction that Spanish leadership in the cybersecurity industry "also inspires confidence".

In fact, he pointed out that this industry "not only avoids companies and administrations incurring millions in losses", but "also generates profits for society as a whole. Specifically, over 3 billion euros per year". Furthermore, nowadays, there are "over 180,000 professionals working in this field", in jobs "based on talent and innovation - the real levers of prosperity for any economy and, without a doubt, also for Spain in the 21st century".

Non official translation