CYBERSECURITY STRATEGY OF THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS 2012   public communications networks that are used by the different government departments, as well as by the business and academic worlds, and the citizens of the Republic. The State relies on the private sector, not only for the communications networks, but also for the provision of the equipment that it uses, and for the implementation of many of activities that are related to network and information security, whether those are conducted as a matter of course for security reasons or for the reliable operation of their systems and services, or they are imposed on the operators via legal and / or regulatory measures. It is considered a given that the private sector contains accumulated technical know-how and specialised human resources, and there are also organisations that can help and contribute to the best possible development of the Republic of Cyprus in these areas. Taking the above into consideration, the Republic of Cyprus sets a high priority on consultation with the private sector for the achievement of its goals, the implementation of the provisions of this Strategy, the continuous improvement of the actions and effects of the Strategy, as well as for the gaining of further technical skills and specialisation. Action 5 - Phase A/B – Comprehensive survey of the private sector, for the identification of groups and stakeholders that can contribute in a positive way to the improvement of the levels of electronic security in the Republic of Cyprus, while simultaneously creating the conditions for developing close collaborative relationships. During the execution of the Action described above, the State will seek out cooperation with existing competent authorities which determine the way that important sectors operate, such as the Central Bank of Cyprus regarding the banking sector. In addition to this, a mechanism for providing regular updates to the private sector will be put in place, regarding the progress being made in the planned actions, to help achieve convergence in the activities of the public and private sectors regarding the provisions of this Strategy. Beyond what has been described above, the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model is emphasised, which is considered on a European and international level to be an effective model of cooperation between entities in the public and private sectors. With the requisite preparatory work, the possibility of creating a dynamic PPP in the area of critical information infrastructure protection will be investigated, and which will:     contribute to the development of trust between the public and private sectors in the area of network and information security, create a safe cooperation framework to achieve common security goals, facilitate the exchange of information related to new threats in cyberspace and solutions for their avoidance, allow cooperation in research and innovation in related topics, 19