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00:00:00The war as it unfolds, words, this is is not only air, land, sea,
00:00:04we now also have cyberspace and we see the
00:00:07relevant photos? Of course, it is not a new field
00:00:11exactly, but as you rightly said, the building is new
00:00:14and one of the reasons why this building was built with
00:00:18a donation from Athanasios Laskaridis is
00:00:21in order to gather into one specific service all the
00:00:25capabilities of cyberwarfare,
00:00:28cybersecurity of the armed forces. Let's
00:00:31say that Mr. Bletsas knows the technical details
00:00:35much better than me, that the network-centric
00:00:38system of the armed forces is a closed system, so in reality,
00:00:42it provides protection to the closed system of the
00:00:45armed forces and where, of course,
00:00:48there is something that is shared on the public
00:00:51internet, such as the websites of the staff
00:00:55and it will be very important because the new
00:00:59doctrine of the country is network-centric, so all the new
00:01:02systems are connected to each other and
00:01:06provide exactly all these together
00:01:10it is an additional tool in order
00:01:12to ensure the integrity of the
00:01:16operation of the doctrine and the best possible
00:01:20operation and as they told me and I have written it in
00:01:23Kathimerini, the existence of a new building, anyway,
00:01:26somehow moved us up in an informal ranking that exists
00:01:30within NATO for the
00:01:33ability of
00:01:36such a comprehensive provision
00:01:39of protection on issues that concern cybersecurity. It is not
00:01:42only the internet and the
00:01:45networks of the armed forces, it is also
00:01:48the issues concerning the country's infrastructure. Here, we should mention
00:01:52that the IT and
00:01:55cyber warfare department can, in consultation with Mr. Bletsa's department, and if
00:01:58Mr. Bletsa's department requests
00:02:02it, also provide assistance in case
00:02:06infrastructures are hit, such as water supply
00:02:09and electricity infrastructures of the
00:02:12country. So, it is a tool in the hands of the state, so to
00:02:16speak, and for dealing with
00:02:19hybrid threats. Let's bring Mr. Bletsas into our discussion. Yes,
00:02:22Mr. Bletsas, we are listening.
00:02:25Look, it is certainly a
00:02:29pleasant development. The Cyber Defense
00:02:32Directorate is a
00:02:35unit that has been operating for many years now
00:02:38with good capabilities,
00:02:41a unit that also
00:02:44had political action, as Mr.
00:02:48Nedos mentioned, and in fact, we are among the
00:02:51countries that have done this
00:02:54very well. Other countries have problems with the
00:02:58cooperation of civilian authorities with
00:03:02the military. In Greece,
00:03:05fortunately, we don't have that
00:03:08and you know, fortunately because there aren't many of us.
00:03:12The biggest problem in cybersecurity right now,
00:03:15especially in the public sector, is the lack of
00:03:18specialized personnel, so we cannot afford not to
00:03:21utilize the capabilities wherever they exist as much as
00:03:25possible. The national cybersecurity
00:03:29authority has mainly taken on the
00:03:32regulatory and supervisory role.
00:03:36Now, Greece, like the
00:03:39other European countries, has a very
00:03:41strict cybersecurity regulation, a
00:03:45regulation that is not very easy for
00:03:48an entity to
00:03:50comply with, but it is something that is
00:03:54necessary and something that we had neglected in the
00:03:57past. Therefore, now we are running to
00:04:01catch up and cover the lost time all
00:04:04together, because at the same time, and Vassilis, feel free to interrupt,
00:04:08obviously, as we evolve, the
00:04:12threat itself evolves even faster, that is, the threat from the
00:04:15attacker, and I imagine that one of the
00:04:18goals of the directorate, which is obviously not new,
00:04:21is to try to fill the gap, but also to
00:04:25deal with the immediate
00:04:28threats. Yes, of course, there is this
00:04:31characteristic, I think, and again, here I speak as a non-expert, as
00:04:34a journalist, but I think that precisely because
00:04:38of the speed with which artificial
00:04:41intelligence is also moving, so a large field now of what
00:04:44happens on the internet and how we deal with threats that
00:04:47stem from this area, it also has to do with
00:04:51artificial intelligence, so then
00:04:54any authority, yes, it can't not have
00:04:57it, I think it is now
00:05:00how can I say, a given that anything that has to do with network-centric
00:05:04security obviously touches upon artificial
00:05:08intelligence, so they also have conscripts, Vassilis,
00:05:11inside. who are serving their military service
00:05:14within the framework of active reserve, which is a
00:05:17new concept, let's say, in
00:05:20military service. The goal is for
00:05:24people who serve their military service to maintain contact with the
00:05:27army after their
00:05:30discharge, because as the cyber defense directorate staff told
00:05:34me that day we met
00:05:36this osmosis with the conscripts also brings things into
00:05:40the directorate that are
00:05:44useful. Indeed. Mr.
00:05:46Bletsas, are we currently
00:05:50in a position to say how quickly we will be able to fill this
00:05:53gap that has been created, not only from the under-investment
00:05:57that was happening in such systems and in such new
00:06:00structures and what will be
00:06:04required perhaps for the near future years? We saw, for example, that in the last
00:06:07KISA, some decisions were made that are intertwined with
00:06:11this whole process.
00:06:15Look, I am the last person you will hear
00:06:18me say I am satisfied. It's my job not to be
00:06:22satisfied
00:06:24in this particular case. Beyond that, this is the
00:06:27situation, we need to move faster
00:06:31and we need to look at some institutional things.
00:06:35The bureaucracy of the Greek public sector is orthogonal to
00:06:38cybersecurity.
00:06:41We cannot deal with incidents with
00:06:44paper, as we often have to do
00:06:47now. A procurement of
00:06:50specialized equipment, and
00:06:54often not so specialized
00:06:56equipment, cannot
00:06:58take months or often
00:07:01years.
00:07:03There are many steps that need to be
00:07:06taken. These are what we are trying to do right
00:07:09now. We have examples.
00:07:12There are many countries in Europe that are much further ahead of us, but
00:07:16they also started decades before
00:07:18us. Therefore, we don't need to
00:07:21reinvent the wheel, but
00:07:24what we need to look at, as in many
00:07:28other activities of the Greek
00:07:31public sector, is how we can retain
00:07:35specialized personnel in
00:07:37key positions. Fortunately for us, the private
00:07:41sector in Greece has the capabilities, but
00:07:44some people in the public sector need to be able to
00:07:48know how and where to utilize these
00:07:52capabilities of the private sector, to put it very simply, and this
00:07:55is becoming increasingly difficult,
00:07:58even in the military, which had these capabilities,
00:08:02because these people had undergone
00:08:05specialized training abroad, in allied
00:08:08countries, etc. and stayed for a long
00:08:12time. Even there, the difference in
00:08:15remuneration is so great that everyone leaves or
00:08:18often they are discharged
00:08:21due to the regulations of the armed forces
00:08:24and so we do not retain this
00:08:28experience where we should.
00:08:31Therefore, many things need to be done, many
00:08:34things are being done right now, we are moving as fast as
00:08:38we can. Vassilis, one last thing, since you entered
00:08:42the... directorate, how have all these things been carefully
00:08:45conveyed, because even the photos, I saw,
00:08:48I noticed that wherever it was allowed, wherever it was allowed,
00:08:52you used the initials of the people speaking,
00:08:54that is, more or less as if you were with a select unit of the
00:08:58armed forces, just like the corresponding reports for the ZMC. Yes, the
00:09:02people know their job very well. I think Mr. Bletsas said
00:09:05it too. Indeed, and I would like to
00:09:08say that see,
00:09:12it's impressive, it's
00:09:15really impressive and it's impressive that this
00:09:18infrastructure exists in a country like Greece, which a few years ago went through
00:09:22a crisis. And it's also
00:09:26a pleasant fact that apart from the, to stay in the
00:09:30armed forces part, that apart from the impressive
00:09:32platforms, the FDIs, the frigates, the planes, and
00:09:36so on, there's also something that is so crucial for the
00:09:39support of this work. Now, regarding
00:09:43what Mr. Bletsas highlighted, which plagues the
00:09:46armed forces in all fields, that is, the lack of
00:09:49personnel, the inability to
00:09:52provide incentives for people to stay in the Greek
00:09:55economy as a whole, I would say at this moment, and in the public sector, anyway, in
00:09:59critical areas, I think that there needs to be
00:10:02a, I don't remember who said it for the first time, this
00:10:06"revolution of the obvious," that for example, there needs to be
00:10:09created, a way found
00:10:13for people who do hard work in the public sector to get something
00:10:16extra. This taboo needs to be overcome, there is no
00:10:20other way, anyway. So, we thank
00:10:23you very much for.
00:10:31and the national cybersecurity authority is in
00:10:34need of restoration or, if you like, renovation
00:10:37of the building. If there is a volunteer, unfortunately we cannot
00:10:41give honorary rank, but take care of
00:27:19let's go to Cairo to meet, it's Mr.
00:27:23Kazamias, Mr. Antonis Kazamias, who
00:27:26is the president of the Greek Center of Cairo. Good morning Mr.
00:27:30Kazamias, good morning.
00:27:35what news do you have there to give us?
00:27:56things there, I had the luck to be there last October twice
00:28:00in the. even in the
00:28:03monastery and in Sinai, the Greek
00:28:06community strongly upholds the
00:28:10light of Hellenism, there the expatriate center produces
00:28:14very strong work, tell us a few
00:28:17true of course, the Greek community dynamically
00:28:20maintains with its president Mr. Christos
00:28:23Kavalos, the Patriarchate
00:28:25of Alexandria, the
00:28:27Archdiocese of Sinai, with
00:28:31Abbot, Archbishop Mr. Simeon,
00:28:35we are a large community, a strong
00:28:38community, with entrepreneurs,
00:28:42we have Greeks, Egyptians, we keep the Greek language,
00:28:46we keep the Greek flag
00:28:49high always, as do the Egyptians, because we have, as
00:28:53you know, these two homelands, of course
00:28:56and recently the Greek center also opened a
00:28:59second Greek center in their peninsula.
00:29:06which is a tourist resort
00:29:08from where it is an
00:29:11hour from Saint Catherine and an
00:29:15hour from Sharm El Sheikh, the big tourist
00:29:19resort and one of the
00:29:20famous
00:29:23from the famous tourist resorts of the Middle East. Now let me
00:29:27ask you, Egyptian cuisine is wonderful, but
00:29:30as my notes say.
00:29:33uh our esteemed chief editor Nikos Minas uh
00:29:37there are many high-ranking officials
00:29:40of Egypt who prefer the culinary
00:29:44delights offered by the Greek center. Is this
00:29:47true? Recently, in the last two years, I inform
00:29:51you that we have greatly improved with the
00:29:54cuisine with Greek food with Greek
00:29:57cooks with Greek waiters please and
00:30:01Egyptians of course. We teach them, we have
00:30:04also high-ranking officials, ministers,
00:30:06officials, uh, recently we also had from
00:30:09Greece the president of Parliament, Mr.
00:30:13Kaklamanis, we had, every MP who comes
00:30:16or every high-ranking official who comes to Egypt, passes through the Greek
00:30:20center, however we have given a
00:30:24very beautiful image to the Egyptians and to the
00:30:27officials, as you say, who frequent, I won't say
00:30:30every day, but every other day. You will see them near
00:30:34us, and recently I appointed an honorary
00:30:38president, Mr. Khalid Fouad, honorary president of the Greek
00:30:41center, who is the advisor to El-Sisi, the president of
00:30:45the Egyptian Republic for local development, who
00:30:49also facilitates us
00:30:51to open even more Greek centers in
00:30:55other tourist resorts. So how nice, thank
00:30:58you very much for this