This Tuesday, September 30th, the Círculo Ecuestre held the second session of its series on innovation and digital security for companies, entitled Cybersecurity for your company: European Regulations.
The meeting was welcomed by Ignacio Marull, Vice President of the Economic Area of the Círculo Ecuestre, and brought together a panel of top-level experts including Laura Caballero, Director of the Cybersecurity Agency of Catalonia; David Garriga, CEO and founder of SIRT; and Susana De Pablo, General Manager of Engineering, Technology, and Digitalization at Enagás. The discussion was moderated by Alejandro Carballo, Director of Catalonia and Aragon at Vodafone, who posed the questions that guided the colloquium.
The debate focused on European legislation and its impact on business activity, the role of artificial intelligence in digital security, the situation of SMEs in the face of new regulatory challenges, and the most vulnerable aspects of cybersecurity. The speakers' interventions then grounded these issues in concrete experiences and figures that demonstrate the magnitude of the phenomenon.
Laura Caballero opened the session by responding to Carballo's question about the new European NIS2 regulation. She emphasized that it should be understood as "an investment that raises our standards and forces us to do our homework on critical infrastructure", and insisted that companies must ensure not only their own security but also that of their suppliers. She noted that in 2024 the Agency faced 690 million cyberattack attempts—38% more than the previous year—and warned that 60% of data breaches are due to human error, highlighting the enormous challenge of awareness and digital literacy.
Susana De Pablo then emphasized that "past successes do not guarantee future successes", highlighting the importance of maintaining and continually strengthening cybersecurity measures. He defended digitalization as an essential pillar of Enagás' strategy, both for the energy transition and for security of supply. He warned that cyberattack attempts on essential services have increased from 750 to 1,300 in the last year and insisted that the loss of trust in the event of an attack would be incalculable, also stressing that responsibility now falls directly on the boards of directors.
For his part, David Garriga focused attention on the Spanish business community. He emphasized that "we are a country of SMEs" and that the new regulations open up great opportunities for the private sector, although he warned that "we will lack the necessary resources and technology to support this". In this context, he presented a new cybersecurity solution based on generative artificial intelligence aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, which will be available starting in October. The aim is to democratize digital protection and make it accessible to companies with fewer resources.
The colloquium concluded with a shared reflection on the evolution of threats, in which experts agreed on the need to strengthen cooperation between states, businesses, and civil society, and, above all, to position awareness as a key tool for reducing human vulnerability.
With this debate, the Círculo Ecuestre strengthens its role as a space for reflection and dialogue around the major challenges of digital transformation and business security.