Athens, Greece – March 5, 2025 – Yesterday, the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) hosted the annual General Assembly of the European Network for Cyber Security (ENCS) in Athens, where significant advancements in cybersecurity collaboration were highlighted.
At the event, Nikos Raftopoulos, CIO of IPTO and Vice Chair of the ENTSO-E ICT Committee, was appointed to the ENCS Assembly Committee, further strengthening industry leadership in securing Europe’s energy infrastructure.
The event highlighted ENCS continued growth in 2024, welcoming new transmission system operators (TSOs) into its membership and expanding its expert network through partnerships with the World Bank and NATO grid security specialists. Additionally, ENCS was selected as a member of the European Commission’s Smart Energy Expert Group (SEEG) Steering Committee, reinforcing its role in shaping EU cybersecurity policy for the energy sector. The General Assembly also confirmed the reappointment of Anjos Nijk and Maarten Hoeve as Managing Directors for another five-year term.
Building on its 2024 initiatives, ENCS made strides in strengthening cybersecurity for critical energy infrastructure. Key achievements included updating security requirements for electric vehicle (EV) charging, contributing to RED and CRA standardisation, conducting a testing program for OT intrusion detection systems, and hosting 42 knowledge-sharing events.
Looking ahead to 2025, ENCS will prioritise mitigating cybersecurity risks linked to consumer devices, implementing supply chain security best practices, developing OT security training to support NIS-2 compliance, and enhancing information sharing among security operations centre (SOC) teams.
Nikos Raftopoulos, CIO of IPTO and Vice Chair of the ENTSO-E ICT Committee, stated: “Hosting the ENCS General Assembly in Athens highlights the strategic importance of collective cybersecurity resilience in Europe’s power grid. As the threat landscape evolves, ensuring robust OT and IT security for critical infrastructures is imperative, with a strong focus on compliance with NIS-2 and the Network Code on Cybersecurity.
Addressing key challenges such as OT threat detection, secure data transmission and the cybersecurity of Substations, High-Voltage Substations (HVS) and submarine power cables is essential to safeguarding grid operations. Through ENCS, we reinforce our cybersecurity posture while advancing collaborative defense strategies that strengthen the entire energy sector.”
Gennaro Fiorenza, ENCS Assembly Committee Chair, added: “The continuous growth of ENCS and the strengthening of our expert community demonstrate the increasing importance of cybersecurity in the energy sector. The reappointment of our management team for another term is a recognition of the important impact they have made. This continuity allows us to further advance security standards and collaboration across the industry. I also warmly welcome Nikos Raftopoulos to ENCS AC and look forward to working together to address the challenges ahead.”
