Cyber Security might seem like a distant topic considered solely by experts and obscure hackers, however it would be wrong to think that it does not affect us all.
Every aspect of human life – ranging from single individuals to the biggest industrial organisations and States as well – is greatly affected by digital reality. Digital danger is always lurking behind the corner and has a thousand different forms that can manifest in serious events, ranging from a teen victim of cyberbullying committing suicide, to a credit card theft on a home computer, to many other industrial crimes such as the theft of industrial valuable secrets. The list could go on and on. With the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), intelligent objects, the pitfalls are even rapidly increasing.
How to protect ourselves from these often invisible and untraceable threats? The security measures may vary according the exact situation we are in. Foremost a risk analysis has to be made before going on and as well considering a series of questions related to the relevant situation.
Whether it regards a simple user or a complex business reality we need to ask ourselves what risks we are subjected to and how to protect ourselves. In particular, are the companies ready to prevent and possibly manage a cyber incident or an eventual IT attack? Have they calculated the legal and economic impact of such an event?
The culture of Cyber Hygiene, IT hygiene, unfortunately, is anything but common.
Attention to Cyber Security is not that prevalent and – given that the strength of a chain is defined by the weakest link in it – it is easy to imagine to have someone with a low guard compromising the security of a whole community.
2018 will trigger a series of obligations imposed by the new EU Regulation on Privacy as well as a series of interventions aimed at implementing infrastructural security. On this subject the European Union is at the forefront with a whole set of measures and objectives dictated by the Digital Agenda.
In this historical period in which there are political parties promoting divisions it is rather fundamental to unite and standardise. Divisions on a normative level and consequently of the whole judiciary only benefit cyber criminals who can attack from far away and with an unparalleled speed. Without a standard normative procedure and uniform organizational actions of the public authorities these crimes are unpreventable.
Raising awareness of the inherent cyber related risk is the first step towards an effective fight against these new kind of criminal activities.
Euroleges ®