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Madrid strengthens its digital commitment: a new cybersecurity centre and the MadrIDefenders team in 2026
The Community of Madrid is preparing for a decisive technological shift. The regional Minister for Digitalisation, Miguel López-Valverde, presented a set of initiatives combining advanced cybersecurity, administrative modernisation and new digital healthcare services. These include the opening of the Regional Cybersecurity Operations Centre, planned for the first quarter of 2026, and the creation of the MadrIDefenders group, which will represent the region in international tournaments organised by NATO.
The future centre will be integrated into the Cybersecurity Agency and staffed by a team of between 10 and 15 specialists in incident detection and management. Thanks to artificial-intelligence-based tools, it will be possible to anticipate attacks, analyse data at scale and react in seconds, with permanent monitoring of critical infrastructure. At the same time, the MadrIDefenders, a group of seven experts selected for their track record and certifications, will compete in events such as Locked Shields, Cyber Coalition and Crossed Swords.
Digitalisation will also reach healthcare. By the end of 2025, the Virtual Health Card will incorporate a neonatal screening module, with test results for more than 30 conditions, as well as a chatbot to manage appointments, a WhatsApp channel and the Madrid Salud Patient Portal, which will bring together medical records, reports and radiological tests. In the administrative sphere, the EficiencIA project will reduce the average time for many procedures to five minutes. The Digital Account will reach up to 200 available procedures by 2027, including excellence scholarships and rent assistance for young people.
According to López-Valverde, these measures add to the expansion of the Digital Shield across 143 municipalities, 5G reaching 99.6% of the population, the launch of the country's most advanced Artificial Intelligence Factory and the development of the multilingual avatar Sol. With 98.4% of the 2023-2026 Digital Strategy implemented and more than 435 million invested, the Community seeks to establish Madrid as a European leader in digital innovation.