Overview
- Italy’s defense minister Guido Crosetto presented the dossier to the Consiglio supremo di difesa and is forwarding it to Parliament for consideration.
- The plan calls for a dedicated cyber force of at least 5,000 personnel, with an initial operational capacity of 1,200–1,500 specialists working around the clock.
- The proposal includes a joint command integrating cyber, electromagnetic, and cognitive domains, plus a national Center for Countering Hybrid Warfare.
- Crosetto seeks 10,000–15,000 additional military personnel focused on cyber and new technologies, along with a Defense cyber reserve that includes civilian volunteers.
- Official data cited in the dossier report 1,979 cyber events and 573 incidents in 2024, with 1,549 events and a 98% jump in confirmed incidents in the first half of 2025, hitting healthcare and SMEs hardest and attributed largely to hostile states such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.