The Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority (BULATSA) has opened a safety operations facility co-financed by the European Commission.

BULATSA stated the project is exclusive among the many initiatives currently being implemented with EU funding.

The centre comes as a complete solution that can provide security against cyber threats to its IT infrastructure. It also delivers safety solutions to the air site visitors service centres in Varna, Bourgas, Plovdiv and Gorna Oryahovitsa.

The platform includes processes, individuals and technologies involved in network control and monitoring, incident response, research and active search for identified or unidentified, conventional and modern cyber threats.

“BULATSA is a legal entity that holds a licence and performs state functions for the provision of air navigation services in the controlled civil airspace of the Republic of Bulgaria.”

Launched in 2016, the project has been designed to provide a platform to monitor, analyse and control system logs, network traffic, system files and management of incidents related to information security.

The project includes the integration of new security devices including SIEM capability, devices for end-point protection and security appliances to capture the network traffic and the systems logs in BULATSA’s infrastructure.

At present, BULATSA is said to be the sole air navigation service supplier within the Balkans.

BULATSA is a legal entity that holds a licence and performs state functions for the provision of air navigation services in the controlled civil airspace of the Republic of Bulgaria.

It also operates the Sofia Air Traffic Control (ATC) Centre.

BULATSA’s activities are primarily financed from the collected en-route air navigation charges according to the principles of the Chicago Convention of 1944.