Junta shells out another 12 million euros on new 24-hour cyber threat monitoring centre in Malaga

The Junta de Andalucía has pumped another 12 million euros into a new cyber security project located in Malaga city centre.

The Centro de Ciberseguridad de Andalucía has been partially operating since the end of March in the Palmeral de las Sorpresas in Malaga, but lacks the "brain", the security operations centre that can monitor cyber threats 24 hours a day. However, a 12-million-euro cash injection, approved on Tuesday 19 September, will fund the nerve centre that will assess cyber risks at all times.

Regional minister Antonio Sanz has said that the official opening date of the centre will be on 28 November.

The regional cybersecurity centre will have seen a total an investment of 60 million euros and will act as a "centre point for the region to develop and promote everything related to its cybersecurity strategy", Sanz said. The space will also house facilities to offer training, innovation and awareness to companies, universities and the public.

"The Centro de Ciberseguridad de Andalucía is destined to be the centre of greatest relevance in Southern Europe in terms of welfare and security in a hyperconnected world," Sanz added.

The largest cybersecurity contract

The minister also pointed out that the largest cybersecurity contract in Spain, worth 18 million euros, is already underway: "More than 135,000 computers in the Andalusian administration will have a tool similar to an intelligent antivirus, a state-of-the-art antivirus".