Advancing Cybersecurity Culture for European SMEs - Interview with Ioannis Makris

Ioannis Makris, representing Metamind Innovations in the NERO Project, sheds light on the initiative's mission to strengthen cybersecurity measures for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in the healthcare, transportation, and finance sectors.

As the leader of Work Package 2, Metamind Innovation’s team is focused on defining the cybersecurity landscape and conducting threat analysis for SMEs. Ioannis explains their approach:
"We're going to identify and define the cybersecurity landscape and the threat analysis regarding SMEs, especially in the three domains that NERO is going to be validated, in the healthcare domain the transportation domain and the financial domain."

Addressing Resource Limitations

Ioannis highlights the primary obstacles faced by SMEs in implementing robust cybersecurity measures:
"The main challenges faced right now by SMEs are around the limited financial and human resources. Often, SMEs do not have the budget to invest in educating their employees in cybersecurity or to buy advanced cybersecurity tools."

This resource scarcity leaves SMEs particularly vulnerable to sophisticated cyber-attacks, which increasingly leverage AI and other advanced technologies.

The NERO Ecosystem: A Game-Changer for SMEs

Drawing from his experience at Metamind Innovations, a technology provider SME, Ioannis emphasises the potential impact of the NERO ecosystem:
"We can clearly see the impact that the NERO ecosystem may have on the financial sector and the healthcare sector. It's really important to provide a cybersecurity suite with the marketplace and all these tools that are really accessible and reachable by all sorts of people working in SMEs, from executives, business managers and technology providers."

User-Friendly Marketplace: Bridging the Technical Gap

A key component of the NERO project is its marketplace, designed to make cybersecurity solutions accessible to SMEs regardless of their technical expertise. Ioannis elaborates on this approach:
"The main goal of the marketplace is to be designed to be as user-friendly as possible, to provide the look and feel of all the tools in the same manner to define a clear user story and provide an easy-to-use solution to people that may lack technical expertise."

By focusing on user-friendliness and accessibility, the NERO project aims to democratise cybersecurity solutions for SMEs across various sectors.

A Vision for Comprehensive Cybersecurity

Ioannis concludes by emphasising the project's ultimate goal:
"At the end of the day, what is important is   to provide really good solutions in the cybersecurity domain for SMEs."

Through its innovative approach and focus on user-friendly solutions, the NERO project is poised to make a significant impact on cybersecurity for SMEs, helping to create a more secure digital landscape for businesses of all sizes.

Watch the Full Video Interview

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