A Program Agreement was signed on Monday 24 September by Prof. Nektarios Tavernarakis, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Research and Technology (FORTH) and Prof. Udo Helmbrecht, Executive Director of the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), at the Historical Museum of Crete, in the presence of the Secretary General of Telecommunications and Post Offices, Dr. Vassilis Maglaras. This action seals the excellent cooperation between the two Institutions, which has been consolidated since the establishment of ENISA in Heraklion.

During the meeting which was held in an exceptionally warm and friendly atmosphere, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of FORTH, Prof. Nektarios Tavernarakis stated: "We are very pleased to welcome the signing of the Program Agreement between FORTH andENISA, which we envisageto strengthen the already close cooperation of the two Foundations and the development of innovative initiatives of common interest ".

The Executive Director of ENISA, Udo Helmbrecht also stated: "We are very grateful to Prof. Nektarios Tavernarakis and FORTH for the continued support to ENISA ever since its establishment in Heraklion as well asfor the constructive discussions duringthe preparation of this Program Agreement. ENISA commits to working with FORTH on research issuesand to organizing joint events such as the current summer school. We will harness the expertise of both organizationsandwork together to strengthen Cybersecurity. "

This agreement, which focuses on Network and Information Security, provides for important actions such as the joint organization of events and training activities (Conferences, Summer Schools, Educational Programs, etc.), as well as joint participation in programs, exploitingexisting experience, expertise and skills as well as available infrastructures, to achieve common goals in the areas of Ambient Intelligence, Management and Analysis of Big Data, Network Security, Privacy, Blockchain, Internet of Things etc. Other joint research actions envisaged are the exchange of knowledge and information, staff training and other co-operation actions within European projects.

It is also worth mentioning that within the framework of the multi-year cooperation between the two Institutions, the 5th Summer School ENISA-ITE is organized in Heraklion Crete, September 24-28, with key speakers in the area of ​​Network and Information Security from Greece and abroad.