Cybersecurity Month: the GARR Security Days experience

The GARR Security Days 2025 took place in Rome on 6–7 October, offering the research and academic community a concrete opportunity to engage in discussion on some of the most pressing issues in cybersecurity and digital identity management.

The event was held during the European Cybersecurity Month, promoted every October by the European Commission and ENISA to raise awareness among citizens, businesses and institutions about digital security.

Participation and representation
 This year’s edition brought together participants representing the full diversity of the GARR community – from universities and research centres to the biomedical sector. Such variety fostered a rich and cross-disciplinary exchange of experiences and perspectives among the actors of the research world.

Main topics
 The two-day programme addressed key issues such as regulatory developments, particularly the NIS2 Directive, operational strategies to strengthen network and supply chain security, the management and evolution of federated identities, the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning in cybersecurity, incident handling, threat analysis, as well as training and awareness-raising. Both plenary and parallel sessions explored these topics from technical and strategic angles, with a distinctly collaborative approach.

What were the Security Days like? We asked the participants
 Interviews with participants revealed the strong sense of commitment and sharing that characterised the event. According to Simon Pietro Romano (University of Naples Federico II), the Security Days represent a unique opportunity for sharing and collective growth, confirming the importance of creating spaces to exchange experiences and expertise, and to avoid facing everyday cybersecurity challenges in isolation.
 
 Nicolò Thei (University of Pavia) emphasised the value of the event as a forum for experts to exchange ideas, focusing on the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to anticipate threats and analyse real-world use cases, as well as incident management within GARR-CERT.
 For Davide Vaghetti (GARR), the event was an opportunity to strengthen connections among cybersecurity professionals and lay the groundwork for a yet-to-be-formalised security community, with a focus on digital identities, authentication, authorisation and incident response frameworks.

An opportunity to look ahead together
 The GARR Security Days were not only a technical event but also an occasion to strengthen ties among the actors of the research community, promote the adoption of interoperable and sustainable solutions, and foster a shared culture of digital security. In an ever-evolving landscape, and within the broader context of the European Cybersecurity Month, initiatives like this contribute to reinforcing resilience and collective collaboration across the research community.

Go to the event website

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