CYBER SAFETY: ITS RELEVANCE AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT // Leena Nyman, Mikko Vieltojärvi
// Rainer Saks, Kari-Pekka Rannikko and Lucie Kadlecová (CybExer Technologies)
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t is undisputable that cyber security is to remain among the top global challenges for the decades to come. Different IT networks have become a core component of the critical infrastructure globally while their interconnectedness has grown exponentially. Despite the improvements in the quality of life stemming from this technological advancement, this also brings along serious cyber threats and risks. Cyber crime is the fastest growing branch of criminal activities worldwide. Different state-supported actors permanently enlarge their activities in cyber space. Remote work, forced upon us by the global pandemics, is to stay with us even in the future increasing the number of potential targets and challenges for cyber security systems of public institutions and enterprises. And the list goes on. Although the general awareness about these cyber threats has improved recently, especially among decision makers, it is still relatively poor. Many decision makers keep leaving the responsibility for cyber issues mainly to their IT departments while they omit rising cyber awareness among their employees and miss a chance to implement a complex top-down solution. This is the moment when cyber safety enters the picture.
CYBER SAFETY VS. CYBER SECURITY
Cyber security is generally understood as the practice and application of technologies, processes and controls to protect systems and data from cyber attacks. In other words, it is group’s efforts and measures to protect its members from harm in cyber space. On the other hand, cyber safety can be described as part of social security of our society. Safety relates to a personal feeling of being free from danger and harm. Applied in cyber space, cyber safety is the feeling of citizens to operate safely in any sphere of activities using internet-based services. While cyber security is defined as measures and efforts in cyber space that are outside of an individual, cyber safety relates to individual’s inner feelings in respect to the online activities. The individual’s feeling of cyber safety is influenced in two directions – from top-down and bottom-up. The top-down influence can be defined through external factors originating in authorities present in the individual’s life. For example, the feeling of cyber safety is in this case influenced by the cyber security regulations of an employer, national cyber-related policies and legislations, media’s reporting on cyber incidents, insurance policies for organizations or the maturity of service
1 We would like to thank Mr. Kevin Estis for his original thoughts on the complex approach to cyber education in the society.
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CYBERWATCH
FINLAND
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