ŠAVŠ/TAČR Digital Czechia in a Digital Europe

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a threat that their possible disruption or misuse could significantly affect or directly endanger Czech society and its proper functioning. The exponential increase in data available on the Internet can be well demonstrated by the statistics that in just the last two years, 90% of currently existing Internet data have been generated! 5 In its efforts to digitalize its services and domestic businesses, the Czech Republic must constantly pay attention to ensuring the cyber security of emerging systems. Otherwise, it risks all information and data possibly being acquired by a third party (whether it is a foreign state entity, organized groups or individuals) without authorization. According to the results of the European Commission’s eGovernment Benchmark 2018, which assessed the resilience of public websites – especially those that provide citizens with access to the ‘life’s benchmarks’ portal in the country, the Czech Republic received a 30% rating. (Sweden also received the same result for comparison; the Netherlands achieved a rating of up to 58%.) This points to the fact that although the security of public websites in the Czech Republic could be more diligent, it is at least still at a relatively good level compared to other countries – the results of the study underline that out of 3,500 verified sites in the European Union, less than 10%. 6 Cyber threats and attacks are growing at breakneck speed. In February 2019 alone, up to 692,853,046 files were identified that were obtained/compromised by a cyberattack. (NB. This number is based only on records that were published or reported – it can be assumed that the actual number of leaked/compromised files is even higher.) Taking all the data from 2019 into account, it is estimated that up to 30,000 data per minute are compromised on average. 7 This number is then supported by the results of the analysis 2017–2018 Global Application and Network Security Report of Redware, which identified that up to a quarter of companies and firms experience a cyberattack on a daily or weekly basis. 8 5 Marr Bernard, How Much Data Do We Create Every Day? The Mind-Blowing Stats Everyone Should Read, Forbes, 21/05/2018, see https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/05/21/how-much- data-do-we-create-every-day-the-mind-blowing-stats-everyone-should-read/?fbclid=IwAR30FrU5_ FGEOtbmYk3S3HoxtipJ7mNIgsVRNNUMl7Z5VAOsZ361lB80kIs#5511a01160ba. 6 European eGovernment websites need to raise security levels, eGovernment Benchmark 2018 Securing eGovernment for all, European Commission, 2018, see https://www.irozhlas.cz/zpravy-domov/pristup-k- internetu-maji-vice-nez-tri-ctvrtiny-domacnosti-pribyva-uzivatelu_1711201520_mis. 7 Morgan Lewis, List of data breaches and cyber attacks in February 2019 – 692,853,046 records leaked, IT governance, 26/02/2019, see https://www.itgovernance.co.uk/blog/list-of-data-breaches-and-cyber- attacks-in-february-2019-692853046-records-leaked. 8 Radware Report Highlights Rise in Ransom Hacks, Radware Inc., 16/01/2018, see https://www. globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/01/16/1289616/0/en/Radware-Report-Highlights-Rise-in- Ransom-Hacks.html. TRENDS AND THREATS