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We will increasingly face hybrid threats.

This is what Tsvetlin Yovchev, national security specialist, former head of DANS and interior minister in the "Oresharski" cabinet (2013 - 2014), told the BNR.

According to him, the information surrounding the cases of bomb threats received in the last days on the e-mails of schools in various cities in Bulgaria "leads to the fact that it is rather a question of hybrid attacks": "Who is behind them and what is their specific goal is yet to come to clarify. There is still no public information about this, there are various hypotheses that have not been confirmed. These attacks came at a time when both society and the whole country are extremely sensitive to security. This showed that there are certain weaknesses, to which we have to take seriously and we have to overcome in a very short period of time".  

"Procedures for action in crises, regardless of what nature, must be precisely defined - unified and agreed with all similar organizations. For example - all schools must react in the same way. These procedures must be agreed with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, some and with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Health", specified Yovchev and added that uniform procedures should be developed in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and not that each police department reacts differently.

Tsvetlin Yovchev emphasized that Bulgaria still does not have a National Center for Cyber ​​Security, although a law was passed years ago: "One of the main systems that operate, one of the main functions, is cyber intelligence, which enables this National Center to collect in advance information. In order for us to effectively operate as a system, that means some laws have to be changed. At this time, one such threat cannot be addressed to any specific organization that has the full responsibility and authority to take any necessary action. And yes coordinates the joint actions of state bodies".

According to him, it is possible to implement such a National Cyber ​​Security Center in a not very long period of time.

Cyberexpert: It is possible that there is a Bulgarian trace in the bomb threats

According to him, it is unlikely that the election process will be interrupted on April 2 because of bomb alerts: "I don't expect these alerts to affect voter turnout either."

Political instability is the number 1 risk in domestic terms, Tsvetlin Yovchev also emphasized, and added that in terms of foreign policy, it is the war in Ukraine: "It is the main generator of risks and threats."

According to him, in the next few months, the first opportunities will appear to start negotiations to stop the war that Russia is waging in Ukraine: "The months until the fall will determine from what basis these negotiations will start."

bomb threats

Tsvetlin Yovchev

hybrid attack