The government will invest more than 450 million in three years to boost the cybersecurity industry and attract talent

The Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, Carme Artigas, has visited the headquarters of the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE) in León where she has announced that the Government will invest more than 450 million in the next three years to boost the cybersecurity industry and attract talent.

The National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE) will articulate this challenge through a new Strategic Plan 2021-2025, aligned with the agenda Spain Digital 2025 and the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience plan, and which confirms the Government’s commitment to digital transformation and economic growth through public-private collaboration. The plan will be developed through three main axes that go through (i) the promotion of the business ecosystem of the sector and the capture of talent, (ii) the strengthening of the cybersecurity of citizens, SMEs and professionals, and (iii) the consolidation of Spain as an international node in the field of cybersecurity.

Carme Artigas has highlighted the importance of this sector so that Spain has the necessary technical and human resources to meet the requirements of national cybersecurity, and for the growth of R+D+I in the economy of our country.

Spain has a cybersecurity industry with more than 20 years of experience, more than 1,600 companies that bill 1,300 million euros per year, and growth expectations that exceed 15% per year. For all of these reasons, the ipulse of the cybersecurity ecosystem is one of the priorities of the Digital Spain Agenda 2025 and the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, through the promotion of entrepreneurship, support for R+D+I in cybersecurity, acceleration programs for the growth of start-ups, the promotion of internationalization or the identification and development of cybersecurity talent, among others.

Currently, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation is open one inquiry To identify proposals to strengthen the cybersecurity capabilities of SMEs and boost the industry of the sector.

Also, through the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE), several programs will be launched soon dedicated, on the one hand, to the entrepreneurship through public-private collaboration, the technological training of companies and the impulse to the internationalization, and, on the other hand, the impulse of innovation in cybersecurity through innovative public procurement.

To promote the strengthening of the cybersecurity of citizens, SMEs and professionals, Carme Artigas has advanced the next launch of Hacker Academy, a cybersecurity training program to train and attract talent in one of the fundamental digital competences today, with special focus on the training of women.

Hacker Academy will be a team training initiative, for people over 14 years old and residents of Spain, that will promote learning in cybersecurity through continuous training in time where the members will be trained in different capacities and technical skills. This program will be developed between May 3 and June 25, 2021 in online format. Thus, a maximum number of 400 participating teams of between 4 and 8 members will be established. Each team will have to overcome different challenges posed with topics related to cybersecurity within a playful scenario.

Likewise, several digital transformation programs will be developed for citizens and minors and to promote resilience in cybersecurity for companies, as well as dissemination and employment in cybersecurity.

The Secretary of State highlighted the role of INCIBE as an international reference in cybersecurity and recalled that León's candidacy for the European Centre for Industrial, Technological and Research Competition in Cybersecurity has served to unite institutions, entities and companies around a common objective.