ICT and Related Sectors Skills Development and Productivity Training Project
Project No. 4.2.4.1/1/24/A/001
From 2 July 2025, new Cabinet Regulations No. 397, “Minimum Cybersecurity Requirements”, have come into force. These regulations establish clear and unified guidelines for implementing cybersecurity in state and municipal institutions, as well as in major companies providing essential and critical services to the public. The regulations represent an important step in improving cybersecurity management systems and are aligned with the National Cybersecurity Law and the EU NIS2 Directive requirements.
By 1 October 2025, organizations must appoint a cybersecurity manager, conduct a self-assessment, and develop core documentation, such as a cyber risk management plan, business continuity plan, and internal regulations. They must also implement incident prevention and response mechanisms and ensure system monitoring and maintenance.
To support the implementation of these requirements, the National Cybersecurity Centre organizes informational events, while the Ministry of Defence provides practical tools, including document templates and submission forms.
Implementing these requirements is not just about regulatory compliance – it is an opportunity for companies to create a more stable and secure operating environment. Improved cybersecurity management will strengthen company reputation, foster long-term partnerships, and help organizations prepare for future challenges in an increasingly technological environment.
Source: cert.lv
What is the scope and specialization of SIA APPLY?
SIA APPLY was founded in the summer of 2012. Within the first few months, we quickly realized that computer vision would be our main area of focus, along with artificial intelligence. We have been working in this field for 13 years. At the same time, we also operate in other areas, such as enterprise management systems and industrial robot programming. We have significant scientific capacity, which allows us to develop complex algorithms and solve mathematical challenges. In many ways, we are a bit like scientists.
What is the current industry development direction and future trends?
One could say that the current direction is aimed at maximal digitalization. We often like to say that Latvia is either the last or first on a global scale, but that’s not quite true. In fact, we are ahead of many other countries. Of course, there are also countries we compare ourselves with and aim to reach similar levels of development – and that’s very good, because ambitions are always necessary!
The main direction is digitalization. This means that even more precise digital IT systems will be developed and implemented to optimize costs, streamline processes, partially replace humans, or enhance their cognitive abilities with external tools – such as artificial intelligence.
What does employee training and professional development provide for the company and its employees?
To answer this question, it is first important to understand why training is necessary. The reason is the extremely rapid flow of information and the introduction of new technologies into daily life.
From a human perspective, it is no longer possible to acquire all necessary knowledge in the first 25 years of life and then simply apply it throughout one’s lifetime – continuous learning is essential. Within companies, the introduction of new digital systems requires employees to learn many new things. It becomes clear that one’s core profession is no longer sufficient. This complexity affects all levels – and the higher the employee works in terms of cognitive or added-value tasks, the more additional knowledge and skills they will need to acquire.
What challenges might company leaders face in the near future?
Leaders will need to learn many new things. Of course, the fundamental requirement is a strong understanding of their industry. Every company leader or high-level executive also needs to understand finance. Given technological development, it is now also essential to understand at least the basics of technology, because a company’s strategy or vision will ultimately rely on technological trends.
For example, if a company wants to reduce staff, become more efficient, or improve product quality, these objectives will largely depend on technology. Therefore, a leader must be able to assess what is available in the market, what works well, what doesn’t, when it is worth creating a custom solution, and when to use an existing one. These are skills that will become increasingly important.
We often think that technology will arrive and humans will no longer be needed. However, we currently see the opposite – people are needed more than ever, and this is reinforced by the fact that employees require higher qualifications. This automatically means that companies must take care of their people, which introduces a psychological aspect. If you have a good employee, you certainly don’t want to lose them, and you start thinking about their well-being.