Balkan Nations on Cyber Threats - Measures Needed for Information Security Deterrence

Cyber security in the Balkan region is fraught with varied issues. All the countries in the region face challenges in tackling the rising risks of cybersecurity. The region faces issues of legal ambiguities regarding the most common types of cyber-attacks, leading to not only loss of information but collateral damage. The article intended to offer solutions to counter cyber-security threats for the countries located in the Balkan region.

Illustration By The Geostrata

STRENGTHENING CYBER-SECURITY RELATIONS WITH FRIENDLY COUNTRIES

The region faces the issues of non-implementation of cyber-security policies. The Balkan countries have focused overly on tackling issues related to cybercrime and piracy.  Therefore, the countries in the region need to introduce measures to increase their government’s capacity to counter cyber threats. Strengthening relations with friendly countries can help build capacity to prevent cyber-security incidents.

The case of the United States aiding Albania’s government in countering cyber-security threats is an important example. In the case of Albania, the sub-organisation of the United States, USAID has launched the Albanian Cyber-Security Program with the Government of Albania to counter cyber-security incidents. 

STRENGTHENING CYBER CRIMINAL UNITS OF LOCAL POLICE FORCE

The countries in the Balkan region have witnessed a series of cyber-attacks in recent years. In most cases, ransomware and phishing campaigns are considered the most prevalent types of attacks. The recent ransomware attack occurred in September 2022. The ransomware attack against the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina resulted in the inaccessibility of the website and computers of the parliament for two weeks.

In March 2020, the local public utility company Informatika in Serbia witnessed ransomware attacks. This resulted in the compromise of the infrastructure and data of the employees.

Therefore, countries must develop legislation and capacity to protect the critical infrastructure guarding the citizens, institutions and companies.  With respect to attacks against non-governmental entities, the attack results in large-scale damage and risks as the attackers target information of value.

Such cases can be countered by strengthening the existing crime units in the police departments to deal with cybercrime incidents and increasing the limited resources and capacity of the Criminal Police departments and tech-crime prosecutors. 

SECURITY ACCREDITATION AGAINST CYBER-ATTACKS

The countries in the region have witnessed incidents of state-sponsored cyber-attacks.  In various cases, such attacks result from breakdowns in information and communication systems. As per the National Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA), the case of Croatia needs to be considered. It has remained the centre point of information and communication system attacks.

 The attacks mainly involved state-sponsored cyber-attacks. In order to counter such attacks, the Balkan countries need to develop a coordinated approach among various institutions to tackle threats emerging from such threats, with the creation of security accreditation to protect information security.

Security accreditation also needs to be facilitated by a Cyber Security Council at the national level to generate cyber threat response coordination. 

HARMONISATION OF DATA PROTECTION MEASURES

The Balkan countries have experienced sophisticated attacks. As per the latest trends, the attacks have been tailored in local languages to ensure proper disguise of malicious content. Despite the rising trends in cyber attacks in the form of malware, phishing and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), the countries in the region envision cyber threats only as collateral damage.

In most cases, the growing advancement of cyber-attacks has raised threat levels concerning public and private organisations, their growing importance and the surge in the use of biometric data. Therefore, the countries in the region need to develop incident response capabilities to harmonise data protection measures. 

STREAMLINING LEGAL AMBIGUITIES

A few Balkan countries encounter the issue of cyber threats not only due to the lack of capabilities but also the absence of adequate regulatory mechanisms that prevent the widespread distribution of defence capabilities. Bosnia is a case in point.

In the case of Bosnia, the bylaws prevented the adoption of a comprehensive strategy against cyber threats. The considerable periods of delay have prevented an appropriate mechanism to defend against cyber-attacks.

Therefore, the delays in policy adoption leave the countries in the region vulnerable to all possible hostilities in cyberspace.   Therefore, the countries in the region must facilitate and streamline legal procedures to adapt to cyber threats. In such cases, strong country-wise security measures are needed to prevent legal ambiguities from interfering in cyberspace. 

COMMON SECURITY POLICY WITH DIFFERENTIATED CAPABILITIES

The Balkan countries have an uneven distribution of cyber-security capabilities. In the case of Macedonia, it has started cyber insurance that guarantees the protection of bank accounts and computer systems that could be compromised during the attack. In comparison, Bulgaria has established cyber-security protection systems.

The differentiated capabilities can leave the states vulnerable to financial damage. A country-wide attack can lead to a loss of  € 10 million per day. Therefore, a common security policy that considers varied capabilities among the countries in the region needs to be adopted to ensure the protection of information systems and cyber assets.

THREAT ACTOR IDENTIFICATION

The Balkan countries have also witnessed cyber-attacks from powers located outside the region. In July 2022, Albania witnessed hacking attempts by four Iranian hacking groups that targeted the e-Albania platform, resulting in the registration postponement of school pupils.

In Montenegro, the Cuba Ransomware group claimed responsibility for the attack by obtaining documents and correspondence from bank employees. Therefore, countries need to develop strategies for identifying the threat actors in cyberspace.

In such a case, additional attention must be paid to guarding public services and associated digital systems by considering the patterns of attack by the threat actors. 

STRENGTHENING CYBER-SECURITY CAPABILITIES FOR COUNTRY-WIDE MAJOR EVENTS

In July 2020, North Macedonia experienced large numbers of attacks. The event involved an attack on the website of North Macedonia’s election commission. The attacks hold the record for the highest number of attacks on a single polling day.

The countries in the region need to build a coordinated response against cyber-attacks and develop appropriate measures during major events in the country to counter a large number of attacks on important dates. 

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the region has witnessed uneven capabilities as it tackled cyber security challenges. In most cases, the lack of appropriate, adequate policy measures to counter cyber attacks has made countries vulnerable to hostilities. The cyber-attacks against the Balkan countries have demonstrated a region where the government defences are weak in the face of ever-growing and evolving hostilities. The region is also a victim of a lack of coordinated policy to harmonise data protection measures and threat actor identification.

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BY ANIRBAN DUTTA

TEAM GEOSTRATA

info@thegeostrata.com