Launch of the ShieldHealthAdria Project: Telekom Slovenije Leads a European Initiative to Strengthen Cybersecurity and Resilience in Healthcare

The healthcare sector is facing a rising number of sophisticated attacks that jeopardise sensitive patient data and the uninterrupted delivery of healthcare services. The project aims to enhance the cybersecurity and resilience of hospitals and other public healthcare institutions in Slovenia and Croatia, and more broadly across the Adriatic region, while developing a model that can be replicated at the European healthcare system level.
 
The ShieldHealthAdria project brings together 13 partners, including leading healthcare institutions and cybersecurity experts. The project is led by Telekom Slovenije in cooperation with Combis d.o.o. As part of the project, partners will conduct comprehensive cybersecurity and resilience assessments in 11 hospitals and healthcare institutions from Slovenia and Croatia and evaluate their compliance with European and national legislation, including the NIS2 Directive and the GDPR. From a regulatory compliance perspective, the project is highly demanding, as in Slovenia it encompasses multiple overarching legal frameworks, including the Information Security Act (ZInfV-1), the General Data Protection Regulation, the Personal Data Protection Act (ZVOP-2), the Healthcare Services Act (ZZDej), the Digitalisation of Healthcare Act (ZDigZ), and the Critical Infrastructure Act (ZKI).
 
Based on the findings, modular solutions for protecting information systems will be developed and deployed. These will include endpoint and network protection, security of medical devices, privileged access management, early intrusion detection, and advanced tools for managing cybersecurity and resilience in healthcare. The solutions will be tested in real-world environments, while partners will monitor improvements in resilience, particularly in faster detection of and response to incidents.
 
A special focus is placed on people, who can represent either the strongest or the weakest link in cybersecurity and resilience. The project will therefore include extensive training programmes engaging more than 1,000 healthcare professionals, strengthening awareness of cybersecurity as a critical component of patient safety.
 
At the ShieldHealthAdria kick-off meeting, partners aligned on project objectives and collaboration frameworks, laying the foundations for effective project implementation. The results will be consolidated into a replication model, enabling the transfer of solutions to other healthcare institutions across Europe and potentially reaching more than 10,000 stakeholders.
 
“With the ShieldHealthAdria project, we aim to provide healthcare institutions with practical tools and knowledge for effectively managing cyber risks, while contributing to greater trust in digital healthcare,” said Dejan Šošter, Chief Project Coordinator at Telekom Slovenije.
 
“At Telekom Slovenije, we are pleased to have secured the coordination role for the ShieldHealthAdria project, as it confirms our expertise and experience in cybersecurity and resilience. We are confident that, together with our partners, we will successfully contribute to strengthening the resilience of the healthcare sector,” added Grega Črne, Technical Project Coordinator at Telekom Slovenije.
 
“Cybersecurity today is closely tied to the safety and health of patients. When a hospital's IT goes down, patients are at risk and so is public trust in the healthcare system. Through this project, together with Telekom Slovenije and the hospital teams, we help institutions identify their risks, implement effective technological security measures and solutions, and develop their own capacity to manage security. All of this serves one goal: greater cyber resilience of the healthcare system and the institutions' compliance with national cybersecurity legislation. The aim of the project is not a one-off upgrade, but sustainable security that remains in the system," said Mate Grbavac, Director of Cybersecurity at Combis.
 
The project led by Telekom Slovenije in cooperation with Combis d.o.o. includes partnership with 11 healthcare institutions from Slovenia and Croatia: University Medical Centre Ljubljana, University Medical Centre Maribor, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, General Hospital Murska Sobota, Community Health Centre of Gorenjska, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Children’s Hospital Zagreb, University Hospital Centre Osijek, University Hospital Centre “Sestre milosrdnice”, University Hospital Sveti Duh, and Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče. The project runs for 24 months, with a total value of €8.56 million, of which 50% is co-funded by the European Union.
 
By participating in the ShieldHealthAdria project, Telekom Slovenije further strengthens its role as a technologically advanced operator and an important research and development partner. At the same time, it contributes to improved data protection, the reliable delivery of healthcare services, and the strengthening of Europe’s digital resilience.
 



About Telekom Slovenije
Telekom Slovenije is a key player in the digitalisation of Slovenia, providing a reliable fixed and mobile network, state-of-the-art information and communication services, and is one of the leading providers of cybersecurity resilience solutions in Southeastern Europe. It is trusted by more than 220,000 broadband and TV service users and more than 1,000,000 mobile service users who value excellent user experience, reliability and security. This gives Telekom Slovenije a 29.2% market share in fixed broadband connections, 36.9% in mobile telephony and 44.2% in IP television (source: AKOS, Q4 2025). Telekom Slovenije’s cutting-edge and extensive fibre optics network reaches more than half a million households in Slovenia. The 5G mobile network is available to 99% of the population by the end of 2025. Over the past ten years, Telekom Slovenije has invested more than EUR 680 million in the development and maintenance of its fixed and mobile networks. The company provides top-tier services that align with users' needs and expectations, offering an excellent price/performance ratio. Users rate Telekom Slovenije's network as the best in Slovenia. (Source:  Brand Track, Fall 2025). For more information, visit www.telekom.si, a Telekom sales centre, an authorised point of sale, call 041 700 700, or write to info@telekom.si. Telekom Slovenije, d.d., Ljubljana.
 
About Combis
Combis is one of the leading ICT companies in Croatia and the wider region, part of the HT Group and the Deutsche Telekom ecosystem. With more than 400 professionals, over 2,000 delivered projects, more than 70 technology partners and over 500 enterprise customers, it covers the full spectrum of enterprise IT: cybersecurity, cloud and data centres, application development, digital transformation, and artificial-intelligence advisory.
Cybersecurity is one of the core pillars of its business. Under the 30SEC umbrella brand, Combis's team of around 50 security specialists serves more than 350 customers, monitoring 185 organisations from finance, energy, healthcare, telecommunications, public administration, and industry on a 24/7 basis. Combis's 30SEC SOC is part of Deutsche Telekom's network of 14 European 
SOC centres.

The project founded under Grant Agreement no. 101299590 is supported by the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre.