Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Defence Minister Nikos Dendias are expected to inaugurate the country’s new Cyber Defence Centre at the Ministry of National Defence headquarters in Athens today.

The new facility, described as a major upgrade to Greece’s cyber defence infrastructure, was completed and staffed in less than 18 months. It will house the Information Technology and Cyberspace Directorate of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, the senior command body of the Greek Armed Forces.

The project was made possible through a donation by Greek shipowner and philanthropist Athanasios Laskaridis. The inauguration ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be attended by the prime minister, the defence minister and senior Armed Forces officials.

The foundation stone for the building was laid on 18 December 2024. Covering 2,500 square metres, the centre is designed to function as the operational hub of the country’s digital shield, with infrastructure built to international standards.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Defence Minister Nikos Dendias said the Special Cyberspace Unit would serve as the headquarters of Unit 1864. He said it would operate alongside the newly established Electronic Intelligence Unit, known as Unit 1821, and the Space Applications Unit, known as Unit 1912, as part of a wider effort to move Greece’s defence capabilities into a new era.

“We will have new capabilities in the critical operational theatre of cyber warfare and operational intelligence,” Mr Dendias said at the time.

The minister also stressed that the aim was wider than supporting the Armed Forces alone. He said Greece needed to protect the broader public sector and society from the threats of the present security environment, adding that the war in Ukraine and the wider regional security situation had forced Greece to reassess doctrines followed for decades.

The new building includes a Cyber Defence Operations Centre operating 24 hours a day, as well as specialist departments for artificial intelligence and data analysis. The Directorate of Information Technology and Cyberspace is staffed by experienced personnel from the Joint Information Technology Corps, strengthening the Armed Forces’ ability to respond to modern digital threats.

Mr Dendias has also praised Mr Laskaridis’s contribution, presenting it as part of a renewed tradition of private benefaction towards the Greek Armed Forces.

“I would like to highlight another donation by Mr Thanasis Laskaridis as an example,” he said during the groundbreaking ceremony. “Modern benefactors have embraced the Greek Armed Forces, continuing a long-standing Hellenic tradition which, to be frank, had shown signs of fatigue in recent decades.”

“No one can give more than what they have in their heart,” he added. “It is your heart that speaks, not your wallet.”