E-Governance Team
The e-Governance team deals with software development based on the needs arising from the European regulatory framework and related to communication, transaction and governance issues.
In this context, the RTD Talos E-Governance Team implemented the following projects:
1. Electronic Invoicing: Based on the requirements of Directive 55/2014, RTD Talos, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and the company AC Goldman Solution & Services GSS Ltd, developed the necessary electronic infrastructure, the PEPPOL network, to transfer electronic invoices. In this context, RTD Talos prepared the State Treasury Department so that, under directive 55/2014, it can accept electronic invoices from 18/04/2019. The pilot application was also carried out in the Department of Postal Services. The project was funded by the “Connecting Europe, Facility” programme.
2. Electronic Governance in Local Government: Based on the requirements of Directive 55/2014, RTD Talos, developed, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and the company AC Goldman Solution & Services GSS Ltd, and the participation of the Union of Municipalities and the Union of Communities of Cyprus, the necessary electronic infrastructure, PEPPOL network, for the circulation of electronic invoices. In this context, all Local Government Organizations (Municipalities and Communities) were prepared so that, under directive 55/2014, they could accept electronic invoices from 18/04/2020. The pilot application was also carried out in the Municipality of Nicosia. The project was funded by the “Connecting Europe, Facility” programme.
The Electronic Invoicing activities were taken over in 2019 by the tech giant BOOMERTEL.
3. Electronic Delivery: Based on the European Commission’s e-Government policy and the definition of the structural elements that make it up, RTD Talos, in collaboration with the Department of Postal Services and the company AC Goldman Solution & Services GSS Ltd, developed the electronic infrastructure for electronic delivery. A pilot application was made for the Union of Municipalities to safely transfer the municipalities’ budgets to the Union of Municipalities for their submission to the Ministry of Finance. The project was funded by the “Facilitation, Connecting Europe” program.
4. Interconnection of Insolvency Registers: Based on Regulation 848/2015 of the European Commission for the interconnection of insolvency registers in the context of Electronic Justice, RTD Talos, developed, in collaboration with the Insolvency Department (then Insolvency Service) and the company GGS IT Consulting, developed the interface of the Cypriot registry to the e-justice platform. The project was funded by the “Facilitation, Connecting Europe” programme.
The Electronic Invoicing activities were taken over in 2019 by the tech giant BOOMERTEL.
5. National CSIRT: RTD Talos, in partnership with the Digital Security Authority and AC Goldman Solution & Services GSS Ltd, developed the National CSIRT Computer Security Incident Response Team.
The national mission of CSIRT-CY is to increase the security posture of the Republic of Cyprus by strengthening the cyber protection of the National Critical Information Infrastructure (CII), banks and ISPs. The national CSIRT-CY coordinates and assists CII owners/operators, banks and Internet service providers to ensure (at least) a minimum level of security by implementing proactive and reactive security services to reduce network information risks and cyber security incidents, as well as to respond to such incidents as and when they occur. The national CSIRT-CY will also undertake awareness actions to educate the local population and national agencies about the adverse effects of cyber threats and cybercrime.
The project was funded by the “Connecting Europe, Facility” programme.
The Electronic Invoicing activities were taken over in 2019 by the tech giant BOOMERTEL.
6. Academic CSIRT (CyNet-CSIRT): In collaboration with the Cyprus Research & Academic Network and AC Goldman Solution & Services GSS Ltd, RTD Talos developed the Academic CSIRT Computer Security Incident Response Team.
CYNET-CSIRT provides incident response and security services to all Academic Institutions, Research Institutes and educational networks that are members of the Cyprus Research & Academic Network (CYNET), both current and future.
CYNET-CSIRT educates its members on the impact of cyber threats and crime and trains them to provide timely warnings, alerts, notifications and effective use of the respective tools.
The project was funded by the “Facilitation, Connecting Europe” programme.
7. CY-EBSI “Establishment of EBSI node(s) in Cyprus”: Cy-EBSI project is about the infrastructural development of the Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) for the Republic of Cyprus. One of its first actions is to install a fully functional EBSI node according to the requirements specified for version 1. The necessary provisions for the transition to version 2 will be put in place. In addition to the installation of the node, a series of processes will be carried out in the smooth operation of the node. This is very important to provide continuous operational capability in a secure environment. Security is a fundamental feature for which all standard industry practices will be adopted. A series of analytics should be implemented that are intended to be used as auxiliary tools to monitor key operational characteristics of the node, including security aspects.
The project focuses on the design and implementation of a pilot use case that exploits the capabilities of the EBSI hub. Specifically, the solution concerns the case where the Cypriot citizen could submit an application to ETEK, the Scientific and Technical Chamber of Cyprus, for the granting of a license to practice a profession, for which ETEK requires proof of the validity of the diploma that the citizen holds in his wallet. These elements will be turned into an architectural design, which is centered around the functionality of the EBSI node using the provided APIs. Development will be done in a way that allows for frequent releases and updates. The final platform based on EBSI will be properly audited by ETEK. In addition, a series of educational programs focused on the platform will be designed, developed and delivered.