Edition #14 of the Governance, Risk Management & Compliance (GRC) Forum Iași, hosted at Fab Lab Iași on Friday, January 30, 2026, reaffirmed an essential fact: the GRC and cybersecurity community in Romania’s North-East region is beginning to mature and generate concrete proposals.
The discussion titled “The Necessary Unknowns: Why We Need Script Kiddies in Cybersecurity”, alongside Cosmin Ștefănică, proved to be an excellent starting point. Beyond the topic itself, the conversation quickly expanded toward deeper themes:
- how cybersecurity specialists are trained,
- the responsibility we, as professionals, have toward future generations,
- and most importantly, how we transform conversations into real initiatives with tangible impact.
In this context, the intervention of Livia Onofrei, Innovation Consultant – Digital Innovation Zone, during the event had a clear purpose: to support the CAMPUS initiative and to present the open call for expanding the regional working group in the field of cybersecurity.
What Is CAMPUS and Why It Matters for the North-East Region
CAMPUS – Cybersecurity in North-East Romania is a European project (Interreg Europe), in which Digital Innovation Zone is a partner alongside organizations from seven countries. Its objective is to increase the digital resilience of public authorities and regions, not only through technology, but through:
- clear regional governance,
- stable collaboration between the public, private, and academic sectors,
- multi-level funding (local, regional, national, and European),
- a “one-stop-shop” model that reduces fragmentation in the cybersecurity landscape.
The key message conveyed by DIZ during the GRC Forum was that digital resilience cannot be built through isolated projects, but through functional ecosystems. CAMPUS does not represent a single building or centralized infrastructure, but rather a network of people, organizations, and competencies working in a coordinated manner.
The model of inspiration is Bretagne Cyber Campus (France)—a mature regional ecosystem functioning as a one-stop shop for cybersecurity, demonstrating that success comes from collaboration and clear governance, not fragmented initiatives.
Why We Need a Broader CAMPUS Working Group
Currently, CAMPUS includes a regional consultative working group composed of representatives from academia, private companies, and support organizations. The first meetings highlighted challenges already familiar to many:
- public institutions are highly vulnerable, with limited response capacity;
- a shortage of IT and cybersecurity specialists;
- lack of risk assessments required for compliance with NIS2, DORA, and other regulations;
- absence of digitalization strategies;
- existing expertise in the region is fragmented.
For this reason, Livia’s message to the GRC Forum community was very direct: we need to expand the CAMPUS working group, make it more representative, and better connected to on-the-ground realities.
Get Involved in Building CAMPUS North-East
The CAMPUS North-East initiative is open to collaboration and co-creation. The next phase involves moving from strategic dialogue to concrete actions, including pilot projects and shared regional cybersecurity services.
We invite the following stakeholders to join this effort:
- public institutions (local authorities, hospitals, public agencies) seeking to increase their digital resilience and prepare for NIS2 requirements;
- private companies in IT & cybersecurity or critical sectors, interested in testing, piloting, and co-developing solutions;
- universities and research centers that can contribute through training, applied research, and technology transfer;
- support organizations and clusters willing to promote a coordinated regional approach.
👉 If you wish to contribute to mapping regional needs, defining CAMPUS services, or developing a pilot project, we invite you to contact us and become part of the core team building CAMPUS North-East. Sign up here!