“Cyber training must be considered an investment and not a cost. We need to create and spread a culture of cybersecurity starting with the youngest. Training boys and girls, as well as teachers, in such a crucial subject must be a priority in every educational path. Only then will we be prepared to counter future and increasingly frequent digital threats. We must strengthen the alliance on these issues between the business world and institutions with a strategic, synergistic, and timely approach, developing a new culture with experts and specific skills. The cybersecurity market needs highly qualified professionals to achieve the goal of raising the security level of private organizations, public administrations, private citizens, and the entire national system.”

Thus spoke Matteo Macina, Deputy Director of the Scientific Technical Committee of the Cyber Security Italy Foundation, at the launch event of the National Security Hub.

For Macina, “it is essential to promote mandatory digital education courses starting from middle and high schools, created through public-private collaboration, with the ultimate goal of including cybersecurity in the educational offer. We have completed the First Pilot Project for the Spread of Cyber Security Culture in High Schools, which began in October 2023, carried out alongside the presence of operators from the Postal Police and the National Cybersecurity Agency, with the aim of raising students’ awareness of the importance of cybersecurity and providing basic knowledge and practical skills in the field. We must provide our young people with the right tools so that, well-trained and qualified, they will one day defend Italy’s strategic assets with competence and considerable technical skills. Investing in training today means investing in the country’s security tomorrow, making it increasingly competitive and attractive.”