Costa Blanca

The “unacceptable risk” of Torrevieja’s cybersecurity systems is the warning from the Audit Office

The “unacceptable risk” associated with the Torrevieja City Council’s cybersecurity systems has been alerted by the Audit Office. In its annual report, the body has given the Council a dozen proposals to enhance a crucial area of services and the way the administration operates in the digital sphere. Even though the City Council has made investments recently “and notable progress has been made since our previous audit,” the Audit Office specifically notes in this report that these investments are insufficient. The general maturity index of the Basic Cybersecurity Controls is 52.0% (31.8% in 2021), which is still insufficient, represents an unacceptable level of risk, and is far from the ENS’s goal of 80.0%. As a result, “it must continue to adopt measures to redirect the observed situation.”

As a result, “Torrevieja City Council lacks an adequate internal control system and cybersecurity governance, as mandated by regulations.” Even though the company has taken steps to reroute the situation, they are insufficient, and the situation needs to be fixed right away. Support must also be strengthened by allocating financial and human resources to information security.

“Acquiring and deploying a specific solution to restrict access to the corporate network by unauthorised physical devices,” as well as establishing a device inventory and a hardware and software upgrade plan, were among the recommendations the agency made to the City Council. It also highlights the necessity of developing a comprehensive vulnerability identification and remediation process that is applied to all City Council systems.

The paper also highlights the necessity of formalising a single process for managing users with administrative rights that sets rules for all of the organization’s systems. Additionally, it specifies that a secure or hardened configuration process that takes security by default and the minimal functioning criterion into account must be approved and put into place for the systems. In order to achieve this, it is suggested that customised installation manuals for every system be created, based on suggestions from reference groups and manufacturers.

According to the report, the City Council should set up a process for processing audit logs of user activity that includes information about the systems impacted, the data kept, the duration of the retention period, backups, control over access rights to the record, and the implementation and documentation of a log review process. It is best to centralise log review in systems specifically designed for this purpose.

Establishing a process for handling data and system backups that outlines, at the very least, the systems and data impacted, the frequency of backups, the locations, the people in charge, restoration tests, and backup protection needs is another suggestion.

Despite the fact that many of these suggestions have been implemented, the report points out that more needs to be done to improve the City Council’s cybersecurity control and reliability index.

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Related Topics:Council People Torrevieja

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Costa Blanca

Moldovan mobster arrested in Torrevieja

A 37-year-old Moldovan male has been taken into custody by the Guardia Civil in accordance with an Italian European Arrest Warrant (EAW). Known as “thieves in law,” the detainee belonged to the Russian-Soviet criminal organisation VOR V ZAKONE, which was committed to committing significant crimes.

The arrest happened on February 28th in Torrevieja while Guardia Civil officers were performing a public safety duty. While on patrol, they spotted three people on a restaurant terrace and saw one of them attempting to hide after spotting them. The officers became suspicious of this behaviour and went on to identify him.

After doing technical examinations, the authorities concluded that the person’s Romanian passport, which was of excellent quality, was a fake. After being detained and brought to government facilities, his fingerprints were recognised, proving his identity.

On March 2th, 2022, the Verona Criminal Court sentenced the detainee to 11 years in prison for international criminal conspiracy offences of a mafia nature. The detainee was a member of the VOR V ZAKONE organisation, which was committed to committing crimes against people and property using mafia-style intimidation, threats, and violence.

The man had been hiding in Spain since the sentencing, using fictitious paperwork to evade discovery. To ascertain whether the fugitive has committed crimes in Spain, the Guardia Civil is still looking into the matter.

The detainee was taken to the Court of First Instance in Torrevieja, where he was ordered to be detained until his extradition to Italy.

The Guardia Civil underlines its commitment to combating international crime and deals another blow to organised crime with this operation.

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Alicante to Seville daily with new Ryanair schedule

During the summer of 2025, Ryanair will run daily flights between Alicante and Seville.

The company plans to connect the two cities on a daily basis from today, March 27th, until October 25th. This year, the connection is strengthened with a flight every weekday, in contrast to the 2024 summer season when the route ran six days a week (with double frequency on Sundays and no flights on Wednesdays). Additionally, Ryanair plans to launch eight weekly flights in April 2025, with the addition of a second daily frequency on Saturdays.

Reaching 125,581 passengers in 2024, the link with Seville, the capital of Andalusia and Spain’s fourth most populous city, saw stratospheric growth. Compared to 2023, when the route carried 58,361 people between the two cities, this number marked a 115% increase.

A potential increase of frequency on the Alicante-Elche and Seville route has not been ruled out, and Ryanair will soon release its 2025–2026 winter schedule. Given the ongoing increase in demand on this route, the Irish airline may be planning to improve connection, as it ran five weekly flights during the previous winter season.

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Benidorm could start fining illegal tourist properties by Easter

Since the formal transfer of authority is anticipated to take place next week, Benidorm may start immediately fining unlawful tourist accommodations as early as Easter. Marián Cano, the Regional Minister of Innovation, Industry, Commerce, and Tourism, made this announcement as an indication of the advancements made in working with local councils to keep an eye on the tourism industry’s underground economy. The city councils of Alicante, Castellón, Elche, Torrevieja, and Benicarló are among the other municipalities that have stated their intention to take on this responsibility. This progress has already been formalised in Valencia, where the transfer of powers has been completed and all the procedures are prepared for approval next week in Benidorm.

In her response to a parliamentary question, the Nuciera councillor discussed the issue in Les Corts and stressed that the new tourism inspection plan “is not a continuation of the previous one, but rather an improvement that introduces more effective measures, strengthens institutional collaboration, and better responds to the needs of the sector.” She stressed cooperation with local governments in this regard in order to provide “more effective inspections and a swift response to irregularities.”