Penkov, Markov & Partners actively participated in the conference “Cybersecurity and Digital Sovereignty”, organised by the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GBITC) and held at Planet Schwarz in Sofia. We would like to thank the organisers for the excellent event, and in particular Mihail Petrov.

Our partner Boris Strijlev delivered an engaging and highly informative presentation focusing on key aspects of the transposition of Directive (EU) 2022/2555 (NIS 2), including the registration procedure in the relevant special register, the personal liability of managers and members of management bodies, and the potential sanctions.

The four panels addressed important topics such as digital sovereignty, cybercrime and methods of prevention, as well as the impact of artificial intelligence on the risk of cyberattacks. These topics were presented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Velizar Shalamanov, former Minister of Defence, Senior Commissioner Vladimir Dimitrov of the General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (GDCOC), and Lyubomir Tulev of the Bulgarian Cybersecurity Association. The event concluded with a presentation by Hristo Sharkov, CEO of GrECo Group’s Bulgarian office, on the benefits of timely risk assessment and taking out cyber incident insurance.

Following a discussion and clarification of questions raised by the numerous attendees, there was a general consensus that the new regulatory framework should not be viewed merely as another administrative burden for businesses, but rather as a necessity in light of ongoing digitalisation and the increasingly widespread use of AI.

Strict compliance with these new requirements is of paramount importance and will be a key factor in assessing the reliability of business partners.