The OAD Extended project

The OAD Extended project will run between 2021 and 2022, and is based on the experience gained, albeit in an embryonic way, with the OAD 2020 survey (to download the 2020 Report click here) which had provided respondents who completed the 2020 Questionnaire with a macro-assessment of the digital security level of their IT system based on the answers selected. In more than 12 consecutive years of investigation, the difficulty of motivating respondents to compleatre, and correctly, the answers to the questions posed has always been raised: about half concern the detected digital attacks and their characteristics (if they are not detected, the system automatically skips all related sub-questions) and the other half on the technical and organizational measures put in place for the digital security of the computer system being answered. This second part is the one considered more technical and therefore more indigestible by the compilers, even if measures in a deliberately general manner and without requiring details on the specific solutions adopted.

With OAD 2020 we wanted to verify the feasibility of a qualitative macro-assessment of the security level of the IT system, highlighting this assessment as one of the main reasons for compiling. The verification was positive, but highlighted some limitations of the software used to place the questionnaire online and collect and weigh the answers from each compiler.

The primary objective of OAD Extended is to significantly expand the number of respondents to the (anonymous) online questionnaire, and of the readers of the final report, for all the various product sectors in Italy (classified according to the ATECO codes), belonging to all the Italian Regions.

Also in the 2020 survey, more than 30% of respondents belong to the ICT sector and its services: all the other sectors received responses, but in most cases in too small a number to be able to carry out specific and meaningful sectoral analyzes. And the relevant topics do not cover all Regions: instead, analyzes by Region would also be interesting.

Being a totally free and anonymous survey, a strong expansion of the potential pool of respondents implies on the one hand effective collaboration and patronage agreements with associations, including trade associations, of the various product sectors. And to do this, it is also necessary to offer in exchange, with the OAD survey, the compilers of the questionnaire a macro-assessment of the digital security level of their IT systems and indications for which measures in place need to be strengthened and strengthened.

The OAD Extended project is based on these assumptions, which at the date is in the process of being detailed and which will be divided into two sub-projects, closely related and interacting with each other:

• Sub-project PO: refers to the activities of promotion and involvement of the various interlocutors to "extend" the OA survey, in the widest possible way: 
  • with the identification and involvement of Sponsoring Associations and other Bodies of all product sectors as well as PAC and PAL
    of strong promotion for potential respondents to the online questionnaire and for readers of the final OAD Report;
  • to identify Sponsors in order to cover, at least partially, the costs of the OAD 2021 and 2022 surveys which will have to be based on what the OAD Extended Project has been able to do in the two considered years;
  • carrying out webinars and events on the results of the 2021 and 2022 OAD surveys, also in collaboration with the Sponsors and Patrons
• Sub project SO: mainly refers to technical activities and:
  • identification of the main and most advanced (technically) online support software for surveys, response weighting and artificial intelligence tools to correlate data, filter them and use machine learning logics; 
  • of online publication of the 2021 and 2022 Questionnaires, and which could be based on different platforms in the two years (it will depend on the results obtained in the research and ad hoc tests in the first project phase).
    • The indications at the date of the next OAD  questionnaires foresee: 
      • the creation of a questionnaire that is always anonymous but simplified compared to the 2020 one on the part of the security measures in place, with a macro assessment of the security level upon completion
      • one of the same level as that of 2020 but possibly easier to understand especially in the security measures in place with multiple answers, with a macro assessment of the security level and indications on the security measures to be strengthened
        in perspective, and therefore in 2022, the creation of a non-anonymous questionnaire and more detailed than that of 2020, perhaps with the possibility of automatically and remotely carrying out vulnerability analyzes of the respondent's ICT systems, which must be consenting to the assessment of its IT systems in use and the analysis of their vulnerabilities in an automatic and confidential manner. 
    • All the answers received from the different questionnaires published in 2021 and 2022 will be used, strictly anonymously, for the elaboration of the graphs and the final OAD Reports 2021 and 2022. 
      • if there is a sufficient number of responses by product sector, as well as at regional level, specific analyzes can be carried out by product sector and by regional geographical area, on detected digital attacks and digital, technical and organizational security measures of the respondents, thanks to the effective collaborations with the relative associations.

The implementation of OAD Extended

Both the PO and SO sub-projects are currently in the planning and detailing phase, especially for the present year 2021: 2022 project will depend on what and how it will be possible to do in 2021.

In parallel, AIPSI ed OAD Team will continue to carry out webinars with references to data from the survey and the 2020 Report, and to promote the download of the latter: those who have not yet done so, click here.

The involvement of Sponsors, Patrons and other Bodies

Associations, Entities interested in this project, and potential sponsors, are requested to send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to explain their interest. They will all be contacted as soon as possible by AIPSI and OAD Team. This proposal constitutes the first draft of the project, partially surpassed now by these specifications.

The OAD Extended Project was accepted as part of the strategic plan of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers "Digital Republic": see https://repubblicadigitale.in Tecnologia.gov.it/it/i-progetti/

The first AIPSI proposal constitutes the first draft of the OAD Extened project, partially surpassed now by these specifications.