Slovakia lags behind in cybersecurity

The two biggest problems in Slovak cybersecurity are insufficient research and a lack of co-ordination between state authorities, according to cybersecurity expert Melissa Hathaway as quoted by the TASR press agency. The former cybersecurity adviser of George W. Bush and Barack Obama thinks cybersecurity in Slovakia has a problem, particularly in the lack of co-ordination between the Office of the Vice-premier for Investments and Informatisation and the National Security Office (NBU). "They're responsible for the civilian and military components of cybersecurity, but the lack of project co-ordination means a potential risk," said Hathaway, who gave a lecture at a conference in Bratislava on Monday. According to her, another big problem seems to be the lack of investment in cybersecurity and IT innovation. Hathaway cited the fact that as of January 2018 Slovakia had used only four percent of available EU funds for this purpose.

The Director General of the Cybersecurity Section at the Vice-premier for Investments and Informatisation's Office, Jan Majtan, disputes that there has been a lack of coordination among the state agencies involved, and adds that a substantial increase in resources is planned for the future. "Not only in the area of infrastructure protection, but also in the field of cybersecurity education as well as in strengthening capabilities and capacities in critical infrastructure, in the protection of classified information, in co-operation with the National Security Office as well as with intelligence services and the national centre CIRT, " he said. About €44 million has been earmarked for managing cybersecurity incidents in the public administration.