Cybercrime and cyber conflicts: Europe

The main articles are:

• European Union
• PESCO (European Defense Union)

• Cybercrime in the world

Regulators

• European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA)

Information security in selected European countries

Germany

• Information security in Germany

France

• Information security in France

Lithuania

• Information security in Lithuania

Moldova

• Information security in Moldova

Britain

• UK National Information Security Programme
• UK Government Communications Centre
• Cyber ​ ​ war of Russia and Great Britain

2024

Hackers disabling tracking system and panic buttons in UK AutoButtons

In early November 2024, a cyber attack on Microlise left British prison vans without tracking and alarm systems, although it is assumed that the criminals did not try to take advantage of the situation. Read more here

Kaspersky Lab helped Interpol cover one of the world's largest hacker groups that spread ransomware viruses

The large-scale international operation Synergia II, carried out by Interpol with the assistance of Kaspersky Lab specialists, ended with the detention of 41 cybercriminals and the blocking of over 30 thousand malicious server capacities. This became known on November 6, 2024. Read more here

Blood test labs shut down for 3 months in London due to cyber attack

At the end of September 2024, the London health service reported that blood testing laboratories in south-east London had only restored activity after a cyber attack on Synnovis three months later. Read more here

Europol has carried out the largest ever operation against botnets. 2 thousand domains closed, three Ukrainians arrested

At the end of May 2024, Europol conducted the largest ever operation against botnets, including against IcedID, SystemBC, Pikabot, Smokeloader, Bumblebee and Trickbot systems. During the special operation "Final," coordinated by the headquarters of Europol, the arrest of especially important figures was made, the criminal infrastructure was destroyed and the illegal income of syndicates was frozen. Read more here.

Christie's auction house admits leaking customer data after cyber attack

Christie's auction house in late May 2024 officially confirmed the leakage of its customers' data as a result of a cyber attack that occurred at the beginning of the month. Hacker group RansomHub claimed responsibility for the incident, claiming the theft of personal information including the names, nationalities and dates of birth of customers. Read more here.

Hackers shut down Swiss government sites

On January 17, 2024, the Swiss government reported a hacker attack on a number of state sites. The invasion disrupted access to some federal administration resources. Read more here.

2023

Hackers broke into Denmark's critical infrastructure by exploiting holes in Zyxel hardware. This is the largest cyber attack on the country

On November 12, 2023, the Danish cybersecurity organization SektorCERT revealed the details of the country's largest hacker attack in history. This cyber-intrusion has affected Denmark's critical information infrastructure (CII). Some affected companies and organizations had to completely isolate their IT systems by disconnecting them from the Internet. Read more here.

The airline Air Europa hacked the payment system. Customer bank card details stolen

On October 10, 2023, Spanish airline Air Europa reported a cyber attack on its IT infrastructure. As a result of a hacker invasion, customer bank card data was stolen. This information can be used to organize various fraudulent schemes for withdrawal purposes. Read more here.

Hackers hacked the IT systems of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Latvia and published secret correspondence

Hackers hacked into the IT systems of the Latvian Ministry of Internal Affairs and published secret correspondence. This was reported on September 4, 2023 by RIA Novosti. Read more here.

A powerful cyber attack undermined the work of ambulances in Britain. They are forced to switch to paper

On July 19, 2023, some NHS ambulance services (National Health Service) in Britain were faced with the impossibility of working with electronic medical records of patients. Because of this, medical institutions had to switch to paper document management. Read more here.

Immediately 12 Norwegian ministries suffered from a cyber attack. Their data stolen

On July 24, 2023, the authorities Norway reported a large-scale cyber attack, which affected 12 ministries at once. As a result of the invasion, unknown attackers managed to steal these governmental institutions. More. here

Holland's largest ports suspended work due to cyber attacks

In early June 2023, information appeared that several sites of Dutch ports were subjected to cyber attacks by hackers, allegedly pro-Russian, from the NoName057 group (16). As a result, the ports suspended operation. Read more here.

German tank manufacturer Rheinmetall admits that the company was attacked by hackers and revealed the name of the group

On May 22, 2023, the German company Rheinmetall, one of Europe's largest manufacturers of military equipment, including tanks, revealed the similarity of a cyber attack on its information infrastructure. Read more here.

Britain's second-largest industrial ceramics maker loses $4.4 million in cyber attack

On May 18, 2023, Vesuvius, the second largest manufacturer of industrial ceramics in Britain, reported losses of £3.5 million (approximately $4.36 million at the exchange rate as of May 19, 2023) as a result of an invasion by cybercriminals. Read more here.

German IT company Bitmarck stopped all work after a powerful cyber attack

On April 30, 2023, Bitmarck Technik, a German IT services company, reported a powerful cyber attack targeting internal computer infrastructure. As a result of this intrusion, Bitmarck Technik was forced to shut down many of its systems, including customer services and data centers. Read more here.

German manufacturer of warships and the world's largest superyacht stopped work due to ransomware virus attack

In mid-April 2023, the German shipbuilding company Lurssen Werft, one of the contractors of the German army and the manufacturer of the world's largest superyachts, fell victim to hackers during the Easter holidays. A company spokesman confirmed the hacker attack and announced that it was carried out using a ransomware virus. Read more here.

One of the largest manufacturers of POS terminals Ingenico stole customer payment details. Hackers are demanding a ransom and have already begun to publish files

In mid-February 2023, Gi7w0rm analysts specializing in identifying cyber threats and covering relevant events reported that Ingenico had been hacked by the Snatch hacker group. Attackers specialize in ransomware virus attacks. Read more here.

Anonymous Russia hackers announce hacking of airport IT systems in Europe

On February 16, 2023, the cybercriminal group Anonymous Russia announced a series of powerful DDoS attacks on a number of airports in Europe. As a result, the IT systems of air harbors were disrupted, and thousands of passengers were in a difficult situation. Read more here.

Hackers stole customer data of the largest air carrier in Scandinavia

On February 15, 2023, Scandinavian Airlines (Scandinavian Airlines, SAS) reported a cyber attack, as a result of which the company's IT infrastructure was damaged, and some personal data of passengers were disclosed. Read more here.

Super Bock Group faces' major 'supply disruptions due to cyber attack

In early February 2023, Super Bock Group, Portugal's largest beer producer, reported a hacker attack that caused supply disruptions. Read more here.

JD Sports network hit by cyber attack

At the end of January 2023, British sportswear chain JD Sports reported a cyber attack that compromised the data of millions of customers. Read more here.

Ransomware viruses attacked dozens of GIS in Italy and turned them off

On cyber security Italy February 5, 2023, the National Agency for (ACN) warned of a large-scale campaign to distribute ransomware. Malware attacks thousands of servers To Europe in and. North America More. here

Ship management software developer in Europe halts its main system due to cyber attack

On January 9, 2023, DNV announced that its information infrastructure had been subjected to a cyber attack. Because of this, the ShipManager system, which is used to control ships and fleets, had to be disabled. Read more here.

2022

The IT infrastructure of the Serbian government failed after a massive DDoS attack

On January 7, 2023, the Serbian government reported massive DDoS attacks targeting the website and IT infrastructure of the country's Ministry of the Interior. Online services have been disrupted. Read more here.

Arnold Clark Automobiles IT shutdown after cyber attacks

On December 23, 2022, it became known about "suspicious activity" in the computer network of the Scottish company Arnold Clark Automobiles, the largest car dealer in Europe. Read more here.

German industrial giant ThyssenKrupp targeted by cyber attack

On December 20, 2022, ThyssenKrupp reported a cyber attack on its Materials Services and corporate headquarters. The form of the cyber attack was not revealed by the German industrial giant. Read more here.

Vatican shut down site over cyber attacks

At the end of November 2022, it became known that the Vatican is fighting a flood of cyber attacks. Due to hacker attacks, information security specialists had to disable the official website of this city-state in Italy in Rome. Read more here.

Cyber attack on Danish railways halts trains

In November 2022, Denmark's largest passenger train operator Danske Statsbaner (DSB) faced a cyber attack that forced the company to suspend its transport. Read more here.

Europe's largest copper producer faces cyber attacks and cuts off many IT systems

On October 28, 2022, the German metallurgical company Aurubis AG announced a hacker attack. In order to minimize possible risks and damage, many IT systems, including online services, had to be disabled. Read more here.

A series of powerful cyber attacks hit the governments of Slovakia and Poland

On October 27, 2022, it became known that the parliaments Slovakia Poland were subjected to targeted hacker attacks. As a result of cyber attacks, the operation of certain governmental IT systems was paralyzed. More. here

Norway's sovereign wealth fund with $1.2 trillion assets faces massive cyber attacks

At the end of August 2022, hacker attacks became the main problem for the world's largest sovereign wealth fund with assets of $1.2 trillion - the Norwegian National Wealth Fund. Read more here.

Hackers hacked the website of the Finnish parliament

On August 9, 2022, it became known about the hacking of the website of the Finnish parliament. The responsibility for this was assumed by the Russian cyber group NoName057. Read more here.

Italy's national railway company was attacked by hackers. Sales of all tickets stopped

In mid-March 2022, the Italian national railway company Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) survived a hacker attack. The company temporarily suspended the provision of some services, in particular the sale of tickets. Read more here.

2021

EU allocates €4m to upgrade phone hacking platform

On July 6, 2021, it became known that European Union it had allocated 4 million euros to update the hacking platform. phones Cerberus More. here

Creation of a single group in the EU to combat hackers

At the end of June 2021, the European Commission created a new unified group to combat hackers as part of the EU Cybersecurity Strategy, so that all member states are ready for collective work and active exchange of information. Read more here.

2020

The European Commission presented the EU cyber strategy

In mid-December 2020, the European Commission presented a new EU Cybersecurity Strategy, which is designed to strengthen Europe's collective resilience to cyber threats and ensure that all citizens and enterprises can fully use reliable and trustworthy services and digital tools. The strategy is designed to lay new principles for the development of the cybersecurity sector for the next decade. Read more here.

The European Commission intends to create a network of cybersecurity centers

The European Commission and the High Representative[1] of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy presented^[1] in December 2020 a new EU cybersecurity strategy. The aim of this strategy is to increase Europe's collective resilience to cyber threats and to ensure that all citizens and businesses can take full advantage of credible and reliable services and digital tools. This includes the ever-increasing number of connected and automated facilities in homes, offices and factories^[2] of^[3].

According to the document, the European Union will allocate 50 million euros to create centers of generalization of best practices in the field of cybersecurity in member countries, where the capabilities of artificial intelligence will be used to detect and counter cyber attacks.

"The European Commission proposes to launch a network of Operational Security Centers throughout the European Union with the widespread use of artificial intelligence systems, which will be a" cyber shield "for the European Union, capable of detecting signs of a cyber attack early enough to launch an active response before the attack causes damage," the document says.

The European Commission expects proposals to strengthen cybersecurity in the interests of the single digital market from universities, research centers and other organizations in this area.

EU agrees sanctions for cyber attacks against Russia and China

According to Radio Liberty correspondent Ricard Yozvyak, restrictions include freezing of GRU assets, as well as intelligence from China and North Korea^[4].

"The ambassadors today agreed on sanctions against the intelligence services of Russia, China and the DPRK, as well as Russian and Chinese citizens involved in cyber attacks," the source said.

According to him, the restrictions were prepared for involvement in, and to cyber attacks WannaCry NotPetya Cloud Hopper. The EU Council must approve the sanctions, then they will be published in the Official Journal and come into force.

Behind the attack using the WannaCry virus are the DPRK special services, namely intelligence bureau 121, believes Rustam, head of the department for dynamic analysis of malicious code at the international company Group-IBMirkasymov.

"In favor of this version, there is also a section of code found by a reverse engineer from Google that used specific constants. These constants were previously used only in Lazarus Trojans. This is strong enough evidence to attribute the attack to a particular group, "Mirkasymov said.

According to Radio Liberty correspondent Ricard Yozvyak, restrictions include freezing of GRU assets, as well as intelligence from China and North Korea. The journalist mentions "visa bans and asset freezes of six Russian and Chinese officials."

According to the sanctions regulation, individuals and legal entities whom the EU considers responsible for cyber attacks will be blacklisted. They will be prohibited from entering the European Union, and their banking assets in the community will be frozen, European entrepreneurs will be prohibited from contacting them.

At the same time, only those cyber attacks that were carried out from outside the EU, used infrastructure outside the EU or were undertaken in the interests of persons and organizations based or operating outside the European Union fall under the new sanctions.

Estonia, Poland, Croatia, Netherlands, Romania and Lithuania set up common cyber troops

In early March 2020, six European countries signed an agreement to create common cyber troops led by Lithuania.

Estonia,, Croatia,, and Lithuania Poland Netherlands Romania signed a memorandum of understanding in Zagreb, where an informal meeting of EU defense ministers took place. In accordance with the agreement, international teams will be created in all these countries, ready to respond to a cyber attack at any time. The memorandum legally allows the use of these forces in jurisdictions of different countries, determines the mechanism of work of teams, their legal status, role and procedures.

Created by civilian and military experts, these response teams will neutralize and investigate dangerous cyber incidents, "said Raimundas Karoblis in a press release from the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense. - By strengthening the national cyber potential, Lithuania creates a framework for international cooperation that will help counter cyber threats, exchange important knowledge and conduct joint exercises.

Lithuania raised the idea of ​ ​ creating a rapid cyber response force for the EU back in 2017. A multinational cyber incident response organization made up of Lithuanians, Dutch, Poles and Romanians has been on standby since early 2020. The newly created Cyber ​ ​ Warfare, called the European Union Cyber ​ ​ Rapid Response Teams (CRRT), became part of the organization of the Permanent Structured Cooperation of the European Union (PESCO), founded in 2018. It allows EU member states to expand cooperation in the field of defense.

The new cyber response group is an example of the non-military contribution of EU member states to strengthening European defense and supporting NATO efforts to contain cyber threats, Karoblis added.[5]

2019

Hackers disabled the website of the European Central Bank and stole customer data

On August 15, 2019, the European Central Bank reported a hacker attack that led to the shutdown of one of the regulator's sites and the theft of client data. Read more here.

Europe suspends Britain from cybersecurity meetings

In mid-July 2019, it became known that British diplomats were excluded from the EU meeting on, cyber security although Great Britain they are still part of. European Union The meeting, which took place on June 25, discussed cyber standards and network protection 5G in the context of potential risks associated with the use of equipment from a Chinese manufacturer. Huawei

UK Permanent Representative to the EU Tim Barrow wrote a letter to the European Council protesting the incident. According to Barrow, the participation of the UK in such meetings does not threaten the interests of EU security. In addition, the UK has received no explanation as to the reason for its exclusion from the discussion.

The UK has not yet left the European Union, and therefore is still a full member of the bloc and, as such, has the right to participate in discussions on various topics, including sensitive issues such as cybersecurity and intelligence sharing. However, EU officials could bar their British counterparts from meeting in "exceptional circumstances" - such as when discussing issues relating to the British withdrawal process. Nevertheless, the meeting held on June 25 did not concern these topics, Barrow said.

Despite pressure from the EU and the US, London has yet to decide whether to restrict the use of Huawei equipment. Earlier, the British Committee on Science and Technology allowed Huawei to take part in the creation of 5G networks, but banned the use of its equipment in vulnerable parts of networks. Lawmakers said there was no technical basis for a total ban on Huawei in Britain's 5G networks. However, in anticipation of a new minister, the government left the issue unresolved.^[6]

Exercises in preparation for cyber attacks by China and Russia

The European Union will hold drills or so-called war games in preparation for cyber attacks by China and Russia.

In 2018, Finland accused the Russian Federation of plugging GPS signals during NATO exercises in Norway. Note that from July 1, 2019, Finland will become the chairman of the EU Council. At meetings in Helsinki in July and September, interior ministers and finance ministers will be asked to prepare exercise scenarios.

"We want the union and the participating countries to improve their prevention and response capabilities. At a crisis moment, the military and civilian bodies will be able to do only what they were prepared for, "The Guardian quoted Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto as saying.

A meeting of EU leaders was held in Brussels on the issue of a "coordinated response to hybrid and cyber threats." The meeting participants appealed to the European Commission and the participating countries with a request "to work on measures to improve sustainability and safety culture."

Cybersecurity will be one of Finland's highest priorities for six months while it heads the EU Council.

The European Union got the opportunity to apply sanctions to cybercriminals

The European Union has developed and put into further operation a mechanism that will allow the introduction of measures of restrictions for cybercrime. This is reported by the EU in its official document. We are talking about cyber attacks that pose an external threat to the European Union or its member states, including cyber attacks on third states or international organizations.

Now the EU gets the right and opportunity to apply sanctions against persons or organizations responsible for cyber attacks or attempts at cyber attacks, as well as assisting in their implementation.

In particular, the document allows the EU to impose sanctions against persons or organizations that are responsible for cyber attacks, they are financed or supported by equipment, as well as those who are otherwise involved in these cyber attacks.

The new sanctions regime includes attacks that:

• initiated or carried out from territories outside the European Union;
• use infrastructure located outside the EU;
• produced by persons or entities established or operating outside the EU;
• carried out with the support of persons or organizations operating outside the European Union.

The regime also extends to attempted cyber attacks that could potentially cause significant damage.

Restrictive measures include a ban on entry into the territory of the European Union, a freeze on the assets of individuals and legal entities, as well as a ban on citizens or companies from the EU to finance such persons and organizations.

2018

EU will continue to strengthen mechanisms to counter cyber and other threats

The European Union intends to strengthen cybersecurity and more effectively counter cyber threats, radical movements and terrorism, as well as develop cooperation between countries in security issues. This was reported by the communiqué following the EU summit, published on Thursday, October 18, 2018.

As reported in the document, the European Union will introduce restrictive measures in response to attacks. hackers

Work should continue on the capabilities to respond and contain cyber attacks through restrictive measures, the press service of the European Parliament reports.

According to the press release, the European Union will continue to strengthen the mechanisms for deterring and countering hybrid, cybernetic, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats. In order to improve the EU's cybersecurity, discussions on relevant proposals must take place with the current composition of the European Parliament.^[7]

Holland deports four Russians over alleged cyber attacks on Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

In early October 2018, it became known about the deportation of four Russians from Holland. Local authorities suspect Alexei Morenz, Yevgeny Serebryakov, Oleg Sotnikov and Alexei Minin, who were expelled from the country back in April, of preparing a cyber attack on the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). 

According to The Guardian, the Ministry of Defense and Intelligence of the Netherlands, together with British intelligence officers, managed to prevent a cyber attack, in which, according to the authorities, the named citizens of the Russian Federation wanted to gain access to data on the investigation of the crash of a Malaysian Boeing flight near Donetsk and hack the OPCW servers . This organization, among other things, is investigating chemical attacks in Syria, as well as the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in British Salisbury.^[8]

Leonid Levin, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications, sees Holland's actions as an attempt to "integrate into the hot news agenda."

Against the background of a series of indiscriminate accusations of Russia in hacker attacks and the use of chemical weapons, the statement of the Minister of Defense of the Netherlands looks like a populist attempt to integrate into the hot news agenda, - said. TASS Information Agency of Russia Leonid Levin[9]

According to him, the reasons why the expulsion of Russians from Holland was not disclosed for several months are unclear.

Sergei Zheleznyak, a member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, expressed confidence that the statement of the Netherlands is a planned action aimed at undermining Moscow's reputation,  including in the field of chemical weapons.

According to the first deputy chairman of the Federation Council committee on international affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov, the Netherlands took part in the "Russophobic campaign" along with Britain, with which they are closely associated. At the same time, neither one nor the other country has provided a single serious evidence, the senator said.

2017: Creation of the EU Cybersecurity Agency

In order to strengthen the cybersecurity of the countries of the European Union, the European Commission proposed in September 2017 a package of measures, including the creation of the EU Cybersecurity Agency and the introduction of certificates for digital products and services produced in the EU.

"Certification

plays a critical role in increasing trust and strengthening the security of products and services critical to the digital single market. Currently, the EU has a number of different safety certification schemes for ICT products (information and communication technologies - ed.). In the absence of uniform certification criteria common to all EU countries, the risk of barriers and fragmentation of the single market increases, "the^[10] said^[11].

The EC has proposed a comprehensive set of rules, technical requirements, standards and procedures on the basis of which digital products and services will be certified. According to the European Commission, the proposed scheme will be based to the maximum extent on international standards. This will help avoid barriers and comply with international initiatives.

Certificates will be able to guarantee the compliance of products and services with established cybersecurity requirements. The documents will be valid throughout the EU, which will make it easier for manufacturers to do business with foreign partners. In addition, certificates will give customers of products and services a complete understanding of the security functions implemented in them.

2016: EU to allocate €450 million for cybersecurity

Within the framework of the European Commission project called Horizon 2020, 450 million euros will be allocated for cybersecurity this year. The total investment in the industry is expected to be in the range of €1.8 billion by 2020.

The initiatives of the European Commission are aimed primarily at protecting against cyber attacks and increasing the competitiveness of the IT security sector. About this writes Help Netsecurity with reference to the vice president of Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip (Andrus Ansip).

The European Commission plans to launch a public partnership project under the auspices of the Horizon 2020 program and attract additional funds from members of the European Cybersecurity Organization (ECSO). Policymakers expect to triple the amount of investment from the private sector.

In the near future, the European Commission plans to create centers for rapid response to cyber threats. Multi-numbered CERTs are provided for by the Directive on Network and Information Security, which should be considered today in the European Parliament.

2015: EU's first cyber law: banks ordered to report attacks

On December 8, 2015, it became known that European officials supported the first law for the EU on the regulation of cybersecurity. It obliges companies to share data on attacks on their services. In case of refusal, sanctions may be imposed on them, reports Reuters news agency.

Representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the countries of the European Union after a five-hour discussion agreed on the adoption of the cybersecurity bill. One requirement is that companies will have to disclose incidents related to hacker attacks on their computer systems to the authorities. Otherwise, they will face large fines.

This applies to organizations and enterprises representing areas of critical human activity, including the transport industry, power, the financial sector and health care. The requirements also apply to internet companies such as Google, Amazon and eBay, but do not apply to social networks.

In addition to the need to notify about cyber attacks, European businesses will be required to ensure a high level of information security of their infrastructures.

According to Andrus Ansip, Vice President of the European Commission for the EU Single Digital Market, the new legislative directive is aimed at increasing consumer confidence in online services, especially international ones.

"The internet knows no boundaries: the problem in one country can easily spread to the rest of Europe. That is why the EU needs global cybersecurity solutions. The adopted agreement is an important step in this direction, "Ansip said

.

He also noted that in this case we are talking about the first law ever adopted regulating cybersecurity issues throughout Europe. It is not specified when the new requirements will come into force.^[12]

2014: EU plans to license spyware developers

European authorities plan to equate legal espionage, software developed by local companies for state customers, with dual-use technologies and put it on the same list as nuclear reactors, ultra-high-resolution cameras and rocket fuel. That is, those products and technologies that "usually serve civilian purposes, but can be used in the military sphere and for the spread of weapons of mass destruction," follows from the text on the website of the European Commission^[13]

Amendments to the list of dual-use products and technologies were transferred to the European Parliament and the European Council. If they agree, the updated spyware list ON will take effect at the end of December 2014.

An example of the spyware in question is FinFisher, a solution sold by the British company Gamma International. According to the description on the official website, Finfisher allows "remote surveillance and infection" and is able to provide "full access to stored data with the ability to gain control over the target."

The product description mentions that it is capable of "accessing encrypted data and channels" and allows "government agencies to remotely infect the necessary systems."

FinFisher allows you to hack computers running Windows, OS X and Linux operating systems, as well as mobile devices based on Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Symbian. The solution allows you to access accounts of email services such as Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo, as well as hack accounts of Skype, a service considered one of the most reliable on the market thanks to its data encryption technologies.

According to documents at the disposal of The Guardian, in 2010 Gamma International offered to buy FinFisher for $287 thousand to the ruling regime in Egypt to suppress the opposition. In September 2014, Wikileaks published information that FinFisher is used by government organizations in Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia,,, Hungary Italy Mongolia, Netherlands Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa and Vietnam.

From the end of December 2014, if an updated list is adopted, European developers of such software will need to receive a license to export products abroad. Such an innovation was the result of a debate regarding the safety of this software. Human rights organizations have repeatedly raised the issue of the need to ban the sale of spy software to foreign customers, since it - in their words - serves the goals of states seeking to suppress civil liberties.

2013: Department of Cyber Defense established in Estonian Defense Ministry

The Estonian government approved a resolution in December 2013, according to which a new structural unit is being created under the Ministry of Defense - the cyber defense policy department, the press service of the defense department said^[14] Ministry of^[15]. For more details see: Estonian Ministry of Defence

2012

Sweden intercepts 80% of Russian Internet traffic for the NSA

In April 2012, it became known that the Radio Communications Service of the Swedish Ministry of Defense (FRA) intercepts 80% of Russian Internet traffic by selling information to the US National Security Agency, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange^[16] told the British magazine New Internationalist^[16].

Since World War II, telecommunications has become one of the most highly developed areas in Sweden. Thanks to this, Ericsson developed. FRA intercepts radio signals with the help of the Swedish Navy ship Orion and two Air Force Gulfstream IV aircraft, according to the Swedish government website.

In 2009, the parliament of this country approved a law allowing listening to international telephone conversations, reading SMS and emails of those users whose data is in traffic entering Sweden due to the fact that it does not make the difference between radio interception and cable routes. A similar situation is developing in the USA, France, Germany and Great Britain.

The reason for the bill was a scandal that erupted around an anonymous complaint, the author of which claimed that the FRA illegally stores data on more than a hundred Swedish citizens who had contact with Russia in the 1990s. According to the results of an audit conducted by official regulators, nothing illegal was found in the activities of the service.

Damage from cybercrime in Europe 750 billion euros

In Europe, the combined amount of damage caused by cybercrime reaches a staggering €750bn, according to Interpol. (2012 data)

2007: Disconnection of State Sites and Communications in Estonia

In Estonia, in 2007, all government sites and the country's telecommunications network fell in a few minutes. As always, they tried to blame the Russian programmers, but the official version of what happened was left without a denouement.