Cyberattacks and false bomb alerts, Interior Ministry summit: "They want to destabilize Italy"

Not just hacking computer systems or disrupting digital services. The aim is to fuel insecurity, put institutions under pressure and undermine their credibility.

It is the common thread that the Interior Ministry identifies in the recent sequence of cyberattacks and false alarms that have affected Italy and other European countries. A destabilization strategy that pushed the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi to bring together the National Committee for public order and security, with the heads of the AISI and Aise intelligence, the Police Force, the Defense and the National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN), directed by Andrea Quacivi. On the table is not only the maintenance of critical infrastructures and essential services, but also the methods of an offensive that seems to increasingly focus on psychological effects and the perception of security. An evaluation which, however, remains distinct from the attribution of individual episodes: the investigative investigations are still ongoing.

The response outlined to the Committee aims first and foremost at strengthening coordination between the state apparatus. Police forces, intelligence, the National Cybersecurity Agency and other competent bodies will have to intensify the exchange of information and the coordination of investigative activities, to more quickly identify threats and counter their effects.

A second direction concerns the relationship with public and private operators. The objective is to make the circulation of information on cyber risks more timely, while strengthening investments in the protection of networks, critical infrastructures and essential services.

The meeting chaired by Piantedosi was also attended by the Chief of Defense Staff Luciano Portolano and the national anti-mafia and anti-terrorism prosecutor Giovanni Melillo. A composition that reflects the now transversal dimension of the threat: cybersecurity is no longer just about technological protection, but directly affects public order and national security.