Basque Cyber Security Centre - Centro Vasco de Ciberseguridad

The Basque Cybersecurity Centre (BCSC) began life in September 2017 as an organisation designated by the Basque Government to promote cybersecurity in the Basque Country. Its activity revolved around three fundamental aspects.

Continuing advances in the 4.0 strategy of the Basque industrial sector have been the driving force behind the development of a strong cybersecurity industry over the last few years. Uniting in one single geographical area both an important demand for cybersecurity services and a well-rounded offer of solutions, the Basque Country has evolved into an interesting ecosystem for investment and international entrepreneurship.

This year a total of 102 companies - 56 in Guipuzkoa, 25 in Biscay and 21 in Alava - have taken advantage of the Basque Government grants for boosting industrial cybersecurity. The programme, a pioneer in our area, is driven by SPRI and had an initial budget of 600,000 Euros, which was later extended to one million Euros thanks to the high number to companies which applied for a grant. This public investment will serve to promote privately funded investment in cybersecurity to the tune of 2.34 million Euros.

Rennes (Francia) is hosting the 3rd edition of the European Cyber Week from the 19th to the 22nd November. The European Cybersecurity and Cyberdefense forums will gather over 2,500 experts, including our director, Javier Diéguez, in representation o f the BCSC. Diéguez will be taking part in the panel "From Silicon Valley to Start up Nation: which opportunities for European Valleys", and will highlight the opportunities on offer in the Basque Country for Cybersecurity entrepreneurs.

From its outset in September 2017, one of the Basque Cybersecurity Centre's main aims has been to promote cybersecurity measures in Industry, in order to raise the level of protection in Basque companies, and to promote cybersecurity as a tool to gain a competitive edge. To this end, our first year has seen us focus part of our efforts on connecting supply and demand, with reference to cybersecurity, as this is not a route which should be travelled alone.

Frontiers do not exist for cybercriminals, and because of this, global collaboration between CIRST (Incident Response and Security Teams) is key. In 2017 the Ertzaintza recorded a total of 9,127 cybercrimes in the Basque Country. This figure was 20% up on the previous year, and in the first 6 months of this year they have already been alerted to over 6,000 such crimes. This is only the tip of the iceberg, as cybersecurity breaches are not always reported, and estimates currently put the economic losses to Basque businesses caused by cybercrime at around 840 million Euros.

Cybersecurity is a transversal risk which affects all areas of society. Private users are constantly affected by different kinds of attack from the net, such as phishing and a multitude of other scams. Companies, meanwhile, are also constantly under attack from cybercriminals trying to access their systems, receiving denial-of-service attacks or becoming victims of attempts to deceive, such as the CEO scam. All of this can definitively affect the continuity of a business.

The Basque Cybersecurity Centre (BCSC), has inaugurated its new installations today, in the presence of the Lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu and three members of his government: the ministers responsible for Economic Development and Infrastructures (Arantxa Tapia), Education (Cristina Uriarte) and Security (Estefanía Beltrán de Heredia). Also present was the Deputy Minister for Administration and General Services (Nerea López-Uribarri), representing the Department of Public Governance and Self-Government. The Centre Director, Javier Diéguez, was responsible for showing the visitors around the premises, located in the Alava Technology Park, and explaining the details of how the centre works.