Srdjan Gligoric, Kaspersky - Education of users is imperative for the security of e‑Administration
Digitalization brings many benefits but it also carries dangers of cyber attacks. Not even eAdministrations of countries with large amount of data on their citizens are spared from cyber attacks.
According to him, finding balance between data safety and simplicity of use is one of the main challenges all governments face. Gligoric notices that our region is getting increasingly “interesting” to cyber criminals but the good news is that if we work hard enough on raising consciousness on threats we could keep maintain good position against the cyber attackers.
How much are eAdministrations services of countries, including Serbia, vulnerable to cyber attacks?
– The amount of data contained in eAdministration services is enormous. The odds are that the amount of data will only continue to grow and that is what cyber criminals always focus on. Vulnerabilities are built in the very essence of eAdministration because the government interacts directly with its citizens through these digital services. Total eradication of vulnerabilities is impossible but implementing adequate protection measures greatly minimizes the possibility of their abuse by cyber criminals.
In every interaction between the government and the citizens, it is government`s responsibility to show integrity and competence when managing citizens` data, especially the data that provides personal identification of users. At the same time, user experience must not experience setbacks because of this and searching for balance between safety of data and simplicity of use is one of the main challenges all governments face.
How are these attacks carried out? Through eAdministration employees or through users, which entails a large number of citizens?
–The challenges come from both sides .A recent worldwide research we conducted on the sample pf 500 companies showed that their managers believe that the greatest threat comes from the human factor. More than 52% of participants saw greatest risks within the organization itself, either through accidental mistakes due to lack of information or attention or through sabotage on purpose. Aside from establishing clear procedure, the basic mechanism against this weakness is employee training. We offer the whole set of fully automated and easy to manage trainings in Serbian for all employee levels withing our ASAP platform(Advanced Security Awareness Platform).
In case of ordinary citizens who have different ability levels of recognizing threats in the online world and who access services of eAdministration every day the situation is complex. Nevertheless, by collecting sufficient amount of non-personalized behavior patterns, it is possible to quickly detect suspicious behavior in the digital channels of eAdministration before any financial or reputation damages occur. AntiFraud solution offered by Kaspersky combined with experience and support of our experts can successfully deal with this risk too.
We still remember the hacking attack on the Republic Geodetic Authority site this summer which is why their entire information system was on lockdown. What are the potential consequences of this attack on the digital systems of government administration? What is the most pessimistic scenario?
– Every attack on these services has its economic, legal and reputational consequences. One of the mildest consequences but hardly a harmless one is decreased efficiency of eAdministration and even the inability to service the needs of its citizens for a specific time period. The case of RGA attack showed clearly and in practice that the citizens ans the economy both feel the consequences. For example, obtaining documents for real estate transactions was severely affected for a certain period.
Even though that wasn`t the case here, if the attack causes compromised data and unauthorized access to that data, the consequences will be that much severe. In addition to the citizens trust in government capacity to protect their data getting broken and financial consequences, these situation can threaten national security as well.
–The challenges come from both sides .A recent worldwide research we conducted on the sample pf 500 companies showed that their managers believe that the greatest threat comes from the human factor. More than 52% of participants saw greatest risks within the organization itself, either through accidental mistakes due to lack of information or attention or through sabotage on purpose. Aside from establishing clear procedure, the basic mechanism against this weakness is employee training. We offer the whole set of fully automated and easy to manage trainings in Serbian for all employee levels withing our ASAP platform(Advanced Security Awareness Platform).
In case of ordinary citizens who have different ability levels of recognizing threats in the online world and who access services of eAdministration every day the situation is complex. Nevertheless, by collecting sufficient amount of non-personalized behavior patterns, it is possible to quickly detect suspicious behavior in the digital channels of eAdministration before any financial or reputation damages occur. AntiFraud solution offered by Kaspersky combined with experience and support of our experts can successfully deal with this risk too.
We still remember the hacking attack on the Republic Geodetic Authority site this summer which is why their entire information system was on lockdown. What are the potential consequences of this attack on the digital systems of government administration? What is the most pessimistic scenario?
– Every attack on these services has its economic, legal and reputational consequences. One of the mildest consequences but hardly a harmless one is decreased efficiency of eAdministration and even the inability to service the needs of its citizens for a specific time period. The case of RGA attack showed clearly and in practice that the citizens ans the economy both feel the consequences. For example, obtaining documents for real estate transactions was severely affected for a certain period.
Even though that wasn`t the case here, if the attack causes compromised data and unauthorized access to that data, the consequences will be that much severe. In addition to the citizens trust in government capacity to protect their data getting broken and financial consequences, these situation can threaten national security as well.
According to the Kaspersky data, Serbia has recently become a country with the biggest number of users targeted with a phishing scam with malicious content attached in emails. The list of first seven countries with most attacks contains almost all the remaining countries of the former Yugoslavia. Why are cyber criminals interested so much in this region?
– As the digital transformation picks up speed and as our country start to keep up with the rest of the region when it comes to development and reliance on online services, it`s only logical that this region starts to gain popularity with cyber criminals. The risks and situations we previously rad about as foreign curiosities are now becoming our reality.
However, by learning from experience of other countries and regions on how to deal with those challenges and if we worked hard on raising the public consciousness on possible threats, we could maintain good position against cyber attackers. Education and information are crucial since we all need to be familiar with the rules of safe online behavior and to be able to recognize risks.
The other side is investing in comprehensive and adequate protection of the service providers.
How can governments, including the Serbian government, protect themselves against potential attacks and what can citizens do?
– Citizens need to work on their awareness and to get used to being careful whenever they leave any personal data online or make transactions. Cyber criminals are getting more sophisticated and advanced in their efforts to take advantage of lack of knowledge, awareness or accidental errors.
The government, on the other hand, must continue to be responsible towards the citizens` trust. The government`s duty is to protect both the data and the continuity of service from the most advanced threats and targeted attacks through carefully designed approach, adapted solutions and services. This entails adequate capacity and equipment to manage current challenges and attacks as well as risk management by detecting attacks and challenges. As one of the global leaders in cyber security with over 25 years of experience, Kaspersky is willing to give their contribution and support to these efforts.
– As the digital transformation picks up speed and as our country start to keep up with the rest of the region when it comes to development and reliance on online services, it`s only logical that this region starts to gain popularity with cyber criminals. The risks and situations we previously rad about as foreign curiosities are now becoming our reality.
However, by learning from experience of other countries and regions on how to deal with those challenges and if we worked hard on raising the public consciousness on possible threats, we could maintain good position against cyber attackers. Education and information are crucial since we all need to be familiar with the rules of safe online behavior and to be able to recognize risks.
The other side is investing in comprehensive and adequate protection of the service providers.
How can governments, including the Serbian government, protect themselves against potential attacks and what can citizens do?
– Citizens need to work on their awareness and to get used to being careful whenever they leave any personal data online or make transactions. Cyber criminals are getting more sophisticated and advanced in their efforts to take advantage of lack of knowledge, awareness or accidental errors.
The government, on the other hand, must continue to be responsible towards the citizens` trust. The government`s duty is to protect both the data and the continuity of service from the most advanced threats and targeted attacks through carefully designed approach, adapted solutions and services. This entails adequate capacity and equipment to manage current challenges and attacks as well as risk management by detecting attacks and challenges. As one of the global leaders in cyber security with over 25 years of experience, Kaspersky is willing to give their contribution and support to these efforts.