The recent false bomb alerts addressed to schools and airports, together with the cyber attacks that hit refrigeration systems, have opened a great debate on cybersecurity in Italy and on the economic resources that our country allocates to cybersecurity.
A picture of the priorities and planned investments emerges from the Multi-Annual Programmatic Document (DPP) 2026-2028, presented in Parliament on 10 November. The document, drawn up by the Ministry of Defense and published almost seven months later than expected, defines the Italian strategic-military priorities and the related financial resources for the following three years.
An interesting element emerges from the data: the four programs dedicated to military cyber defense foresee investments of 52.31 million euros for 2027, compared to the 68.66 million which, in 2025, had initially been foreseen for the same year. This is therefore a reduction of 23.8% compared to previous forecasts.
This data, however, does not tell the whole picture. In the same period, in fact, the ordinary resources allocated to the National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) went from 109.42 to 135.24 million euros, recording an increase of 23.6%. The role of the Agency, which depends directly on the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, is increasingly important also in light of frequent IT sabotage.
How can these differences be explained? To understand this, let’s see what the Multi-Year Programmatic Document provides and how the resources intended for IT security are distributed.
What is the role of cybersecurity in the Italian strategy?
Let’s start first by saying that the Multi-Year Programmatic Document (DPP) is the instrument with which the Ministry of Defense defines Italy’s strategic-military priorities for the following three years and the related investments.
This is not an exclusively Italian initiative: most states publish strategic documents that outline their national security priorities. The United States, for example, develops the so-called National Security Strategy (NSS).
In the latest Italian DPP, cybersecurity takes on a strategic role. The document, in fact, identifies the cyber domain as one of the main factors that are redefining the security landscape, together with artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, quantum technologies and space capabilities.
In other words, cyber space is considered a new terrain of comparison, which complements the traditional domains of land, sea and air, without however replacing them. It is an area in which new capabilities can be developed, but also a space exposed to possible threats.
In particular, the document highlights the risk of so-called hybrid pressures, defined by the Ministry of Defense as a combination of military and non-military tools employed below the threshold of armed conflict.
But how does this strategic attention translate into concrete investments?
How much Italy will invest in cyber defense
To understand how resources are distributed, it is important to distinguish three main lines of financing, which always concern cybersecurity, but which have different beneficiaries and purposes.
The first strand concerns the National Cybersecurity Agency, for which ordinary resources are increasing.
In fact, it goes from 109.42 million euros in 2025 to 124.09 million euros in 2026, up to the 135.24 million expected in both 2027 and 2028. Overall, between 2025 and 2027 an increase in resources allocated to the ACN of 23.6% is expected.
| Institution / Program | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | % change (2025-2027) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resources allocated to ACN | 109.42 | 124.09 | 135.24 | 135.24 | +23.6% |
These funds will be used to support and improve the structure and functioning of the Agency, strengthening coordination, prevention and response activities to cyber incidents.
The second pillar concerns more specifically military cyber defense, for which the document identifies 4 programs:
- Joint Cyber Warfare;
- Army Cyber Package;
- Navy Cyber Defense;
- Air Force Cyber Defense.
The investments, in this case, will finance the protection of networks and data, encryption, the security of military assets and the ability to conduct operations in the cyber domain.
Overall, 53.13 million are expected for 2026, with the largest resources allocated to the joint forces program. In subsequent years, however, overall resources will decrease, going to 52.31 million in 2027 and 49.17 million in 2028.
Below is an example table, with the amounts for 2026, 2027 and 2028 expressed in millions of euros:
| Plan | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | % change (2026-2028) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyber Warfare – joint forces | 43.94 | 38.74 | 35.77 | -18.59% |
| Cyber Package – Army | 3.99 | 11.92 | 1.00 | -74.94% |
| Cyber Defense – Navy | 3.70 | 1.65 | 2.49 | -32.70% |
| Cyber Defense – Air Force | 1.50 | 0.00 | 9.91 | +560.67% |
| Total | 53.13 | 52.31 | 49.17 | -7.45% |
The most significant data concerns next year’s funds: the 52.31 million currently planned for 2027 represent a reduction of 23.8% compared to the 68.66 million euros that were planned in 2025 and also allocated for 2027.
This downsizing, however, concerns the four military cyber defense programs, while, as we have seen, the ordinary resources of the ACN follow an opposite trend.
Finally, the third strand is represented by the Fund for investments and infrastructural development of the country (contained in Budget Law 232/2016 and operational until 2032).
The fund includes 143.48 million euros and finances various interventions, including the strengthening of IT security levels, together with energy efficiency, the seismic improvement of the barracks and the modernization of the aircraft fleet.
These are therefore resources that also contribute to IT security, but which are not intended exclusively for this sector.
Has our country reduced funding for cybersecurity?
Analyzing all this data, therefore, it is not correct to define the cut in funding of the four military programs as a generalized cut to Italian cybersecurity.
The reason is that cybersecurity does not correspond to a single expense item: funding is distributed between different programs and funds, with beneficiaries, objectives and time horizons that do not always coincide. It is no coincidence that the 2026-2028 DPP provides for investments of around 5.2 billion euros until 2039 for digitalisation, cyber security and simulation systems.
In short, while the resources allocated to the four military cyber defense programs decrease, the ordinary resources allocated to the National Cybersecurity Agency increase.
It is important, however, not to confuse these funding: the four military programs represent only a part of the Defense investments attributable to cybersecurity, while the ACN operates on a different side of national cybersecurity.
Among other things, in order to have an overall vision of the military component, the integrated defense budget should also be considered, which for 2027 is equal to 37.5 billion euros. According to NATO’s calculation criteria (which take different elements into consideration), Italian defense spending in 2026 is estimated at 48.31 billion euros, equal to 2.1% of GDP.
The data that emerges, therefore, is more complex than a simple increase or cut in funds: while the resources programmed for the four military cyber defense interventions examined decrease, the structural resources allocated to the ACN increase. It is therefore not a question of a generalized cut to Italian cybersecurity, but of a different distribution between the various areas of spending.
