Press Releases

Distinguished members of the academic and scientific community,

Esteemed guests,

Dear friends,

Firstly, I would like to thank and congratulate the organizers of today’s event, “Cyprus National Research and Education Network (CyNet) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) fo the Academic and Research Community”. Informing research and academic institutions about cloud computing services to accelerate the development and evolution of research while increasing security and reliability is of crucial importance.

CyNet provides high-quality secure network connectivity for educational and research purposes and related e-services to our public and private research and academic institutions. It provides, advanced and specialized services such as EduRoam, EduGain and EduVPN to the community, cloud services, digital certificates and a whole array of other services. The Deputy Ministry is working in close collaboration with CyNet to create the necessary conditions for the development of additional value-add services in line with best practices observed in other national research and education network organisations in Europe and across the world.    

CyNet has an instrumental role in supporting and upgrading research activity in Cyprus and offers the possibility of cooperation between Cypriot research organizations and their counterparts around the world.

In 2022, the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy signed a Memorandum of Understanding with AWS, one of the biggest on-demand cloud computing platforms, as part of our national initiative for the transition of Cyprus to cloud computing. The Memorandum facilitates, among other, the adoption of a holistic 'cloud-first' policy, the modernization of information systems and the development of capabilities. In particular, the Memorandum promotes the implementation of a wide range of educational initiatives, with the aim of developing a suitably skilled workforce, capable of promoting a rapid and effective transition to a digital, cloud-driven environment.

Through the implementation of the Memorandum, the Deputy Ministry, in addition to the Academic and Research Community, aims to also support SMEs and technology start-ups and help them embrace cloud computing. It also seeks to further advance in areas such as the provision of digital services, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. We place particular emphasis in the following areas:

-  Hybrid cloud architecture, data classification and security.

-  Training programs for citizens, the public sector and industry.

-  Support startups as they launch, grow, and scale through a broad range of programs and events.

Dear friends,

In this digital era, cloud computing has emerged as a fundamental building block for research and innovation, providing unprecedented access to computational resources and vast storage capacities. As we increasingly rely on cloud services to advance our understanding of the world, it is crucial that we also focus on the security and reliability of these platforms.

Cloud service providers have demonstrated their commitment to providing secure and dependable cloud services that can cater to the unique needs of the academic and research community. The comprehensive suite of tools and services offered by the cloud through a multi-layered approach that encompasses infrastructure, data protection, and access management, empowers researchers to work in a secure environment where data integrity and privacy are prioritized.

Furthermore, by utilizing advanced encryption techniques, cloud services safeguard sensitive data, both at rest and in transit and the extensive logging capabilities available enable users to monitor and manage access to their resources, mitigating the risk of unauthorized access or data breaches.

When properly managed, users can confidently access cloud resources, knowing that their work is underpinned by a secure, reliable, and efficient cloud infrastructure. This strengthens security and reliability but also fosters innovation by reducing the barriers to accessing advanced computing resources.

In conclusion, I am optimistic about the tremendous positive impact that secure and reliable cloud services will have as these are increasingly adopted by the academic and research community, business, government and society as a whole. By embracing these technologies, we can drive innovation, safeguard our digital assets, and advance our collective knowledge in a secure and dependable environment.

Thank you, and I wish you all a productive and insightful Info Day.

(MH)