It was a profound professional honor to participate as both Moderator and Speaker at the recent “Technology and Best Practices for Cyber Security: The Italian Experience” Day (November 12, 2025). This event was a crucial step in strengthening the shared commitment between North Macedonia and Italy to enhance cyber resilience, continuing our important bilateral collaboration.
The conference was successfully co-organized by the Embassy of Italy in Macedonia, ITA – Italian Trade Agency Skopje, & AIAD – Federation of Italian Companies for Aerospace, Defense, and Security, in close partnership with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of North Macedonia.
Strategic Collaboration and Industry Engagement
The conference served as a vital platform for governmental institutions and industry leaders, facilitating a robust exchange focused on strategic national security.
The event hosted 8 Italian and 80 Macedonian companies, demonstrating strong industry commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in cybersecurity—a field recognized as a key strategic priority for both nations.
In my opening remarks, I highlighted the notable and meaningful progress North Macedonia has made in its digital and cybersecurity landscape over the past year. This advancement is crucial for laying the groundwork for deeper cooperation and achieving alignment with advanced European standards, including the directives outlined in NIS2.
Pillars of Advanced Cyber Resilience: Italian Expertise
The Italian experts provided valuable strategic insights, focusing on a holistic framework for a resilient cyber ecosystem:
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Human Factor & Skills: Emphasizing that continuous education and training are essential to mitigate vulnerabilities and cultivate a strong cyber culture across all organizational levels.
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Predictive Cyber Defense: Focused on the necessity of intelligence-driven security and establishing proactive mechanisms for the robust protection of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI).
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Security by Design & GRC: Championing the integration of comprehensive governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) frameworks that mandate secure cloud solutions, endpoint protection, and security measures integrated from the initial design phase.
My Intervention: Policy into Action and the Role of Inclusion
My presentation specifically addressed the pathway from high-level policy to practical, effective action, and the critical role of inclusion as a catalyst for national resilience.
As President of Women4Cyber North Macedonia, I stressed that empowering women in the field is not merely an issue of diversity balance, but represents strategic capital for strengthening national cyber capacity and ensuring a comprehensive approach to threat mitigation.
During the expert panel, I had the pleasure of moderating a discussion with esteemed colleagues Sevdali Selmani & Marina Peshovska, where we covered vital aspects of computer incident response and the investigation of cybercrime.
Acknowledgments of Leadership and Partnership
I extend my sincerest gratitude to the leadership and partners whose commitment made this event a success:
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Ambassador Paolo Palminteri & DG Lorenzo Galanti: For their instrumental support in building this bridge for institutional and business cooperation, and for actively promoting the role of women in cybersecurity.
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Minister Stefan Andonovski: Whose dedication to modernization, legislative alignment, and institutional strengthening continues to drive North Macedonia’s digital and cybersecurity reforms.
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Eva Netkovska: For her exceptional organization and professionalism, which were fundamental to the successful execution of the conference.
I also thank all participating Italian companies (CY4GATE, IPS, Vantea SMART, Babylon Cloud, Cleverlab, Innovio, ERMETIX) and every expert who contributed to a productive and forward-looking exchange. I look forward to continuing this important path toward collective cyber resilience.
CyberSecurity DigitalTransformation ItalyNorthMacedonia Women4CyberNorthMacedonia ITA NIS2 #LjubicaPendaroskaKrstevska
