NATO, NIS2 and new money: Finnish cybersecurity in transition?
January 30th, 2024 • Helsinki, Finland
More attacks, regulation and government investment in security are changing the cyber landscape
Investing in better cybersecurity
Finland’s government is planning to accelerate the pace of artificial intelligence (AI) security-based innovations. Spending on improving cyber security defences will rise by 30% from its 2023 level to €280m in 2024. findings and recommendations of a detailed analytic report on AI threats.
The increase is partly a response to the increased attacks caused by the country’s recent accession to NATO, but also aligns with a previous Security threat of AI-enabled cyberattacks (STAIC) report produced by the state transport and communications agency Traficom in collaboration with the National Emergency Supply Agency (NESA/Huoltovarmuuskeskuksen).
The need to reinforce Finland’s national cyber defences at corporate and state levels is necessitated by developing trends in AI technologies, skills and tools that will render AI more available and affordable to lone and organised criminals in this domain, says Sauli Pahlman, the deputy director general at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
This need is understood at all levels: Kirsi Karlamaa, director general of Traficom, has reported an uptick in attacks.
Antti Pelttari, head of the Finnish Security Intelligence Service, has recently highlighted the challenge of sophisticated state actors and their willingness to attack private and public sector organisations indiscriminately. And Petri Knape, Director of the National Security Unit at the Ministry of the Interior has stated that “the capacity of the authorities to prepare for and respond to serious cyber threats must be further developed.”
In this environment, both public and private sector need to improve their capacity to detect and respond to cyber threats, and there needs to be much closer collaboration between different branches of government as well as between the government and private sector.
As Mikko Soikkeli, Director of the IT Management Unit at the Ministry of Defence, has said: “As cyberspace continues to develop, closer collaboration between government agencies, with representatives from all the relevant authorities, is needed.”
Come to the e-Crime & Cybersecurity Congress Nordics to find out:
- How your fellow cybersecurity professionals are coping with these challenges day-to-day?
- Does NIS2 help and what must you do to incorporate its requirements?
- What practical steps you can take to get better supplier visibility and understanding?
- How to economically enhance the security built into Cloud infrastructure and applications with selected additional technologies.
- How new and not-so-new EU Directives are driving the Board view of cybersecurity risk and investment