On 1 April 2019, the Executive Director of ENISA, Udo Helmbrecht, the Secretary General of Digital Policy, Telecommunications and Media, Vasilis Maglaras, the Regional Councillor of Crete, Giorgos Alexakis on behalf of the Governor of Crete Region Stavros Arnaoutakis, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors at FORTH Nektarios Tavernarakis inaugurated the new office of ENISA located in Heraklion, Crete.

This new establishment, as well as the Athens headquarters of the Agency, is provided by the Hellenic authorities in virtue of the seat agreement between ENISA and Greece, which sets down the details of arrangements for the operations of ENISA in Greece.

Executive Director Helmbrecht said: “I want to thank the Hellenic authorities for their continuous commitment to the good functioning of ENISA in Greece. This new tailor-made office meets the highest standards for a European Agency and offers our staff in Crete the best conditions to safely run the activities of the Agency.”

Secretary General Maglaras said: “Cybersecurity is a major challenge in the Digital Society and ENISA, being the EU centre of expertise for cybersecurity, is continuously promoting cybersecurity awareness, advancing our cybersecurity capacities and building a, so called, “cybersecurity culture” within Europe. The role of the Agency is further enhanced by its permanent mandate that has been recently issued. Secretary General of Digital Policy, Telecommunications and Media support the functioning of ENISA and in this framework we have the pleasure to inaugurate the new office of ENISA, in this new building; we firmly believe that it will facilitate the operation of the Agency and it will further enable the Agency to carry out its competencies. We will continue to support the Agency, by any means, and we anticipate that the cooperation of the Agency with FORTH and other research institutes in Greece will be mutually beneficial.”

Professor Tavernarakis said: “The Foundation for Research and Technology places special emphasis on the field of Network and Information Security, as it directly impacts on multiple facets of its research activities. FORTH keenly fosters and encourages close collaboration among ENISA and Research Teams at FORTH, as the multidisciplinary nature of the field of Network and Information Security is relevant to the priorities of several of FORTH Institutes.”

Mr. Alexakis said, on behalf the Governor of Crete Region Arnaoutakis: “ The inauguration of ENISA’s new building in Heraklion, is an event of significant importance for the Region of Crete. This, today, is an important step for the European and World community of electronic communications. The European Union Agency for Network and Information Security officially gets a new building, marking a new era. A new era, when everything evolves at a dizzying speed, demanding constant alertness, adaptation and new rules for safety and protection. The fact that ENISA – even a part of it- remains in Heraklion is an honour but also a responsibility. In a symbolic but also in a substantial way, it sets the bar higher for us.”

The inauguration of ENISA’s new building was followed by an art exhibition by the acclaimed artist Stella Koukoulaki entitled “Cybersec Art”, which included works that are artistically related to the field of Network and Information Security.

The new office – a state-of-the-art building offering conference facilities and suitable IT infrastructure – accommodates ENISA employees from various areas of expertise like policy, finance, facilities management, network and information security, and public affairs.

The construction of the building was co-funded by Greece and the European Union, under the Operational Programme “Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship”.

Change of address:From 1 April 2019 onwards, the office will be located at Nikolaou Plastira 95, Vasilika Vouton, Heraklion – Crete.

Note to editors

The former premises were provided by the Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas – FORTH since 2004. Longstanding partners, ENISA and FORTH have constantly worked together to establish Heraklion as a European centre of cybersecurity excellence, culminating with the organisation of five editions of ‘Network and Information Security Summer School’ events and the signing of a memorandum of understanding (read more about this topic here).

Since 2012, ENISA has also opened an office in Athens.