On June 28 the Lithuanian Cyber Security Council had a meeting at the Ministry of National Defence: state institutions responsible for cyber security presented to the Council the current cybersecurity status in the country and discussed the cybersecurity situation ahead of the NATO Summit in Vilnius due on July 11-12.
“Even though the amount of cyber-events registered by the National Cyber Security Centre remains similar as the year before, we can conclude that Lithuania was able to withstand the regional and national challenges against the backdrop of the ongoing war. Cooperation with the private and the public sectors and scientific institutions, as well as integration of the European Union NIS2 directive in international law, will make critical infrastructure and electronic information safety even stronger in Lithuania,” said Vice Minister of National Defence Greta Monika Tučkutė.
The Ministry of National Defence presented to the Cyber Security Council the work in progress on integration of the NIS2 Directive in national legislation, which at the current stage includes public sector institutions. Over two months this year 15 meetings were convened to debate the draft plan of NIS2 Directive implementation measures, national and EU legal acts, and other topics.
The Directive is a game changer in all cybersecurity provision principles across all EU and member states. IT will elevate the level of cybersecurity of the entire Europe and make incident management in crises situations more efficient. MoD representatives especially underscored that the NIS2 Directive required quite a number of changes to be introduced that present challenges in the transfer into the national legal basis; however, the changes are the only acceptable standard in ensuring response to the dynamic risk environment and adaptation to potential future challenges.
When discussing the near-term agenda in cyber security, Vice Minister G. M. Tučkutė noted preparation of the NATO Summit in Vilnius in July. The National Cyber Security Centre (Lithuanian: NKSC) has recently carried out a cybersecurity risk analysis in the organisations which will hold key roles in ensuring the functions necessary during the NATO Summit. The NKSC has also provided a list of recommendations on risk mitigation measures to all organisations.
The meeting also addressed the audit “Ensuring Cybersecurity” carried out by the National Audit Office of Lithuania and the resulting recommendation on options for improving the cyber security system.
The Cyber Security Council is a standing advisory collegiate independent institution established in 2015 that analyses the cyber security provision situation in Lithuania and offers advice to cyber security providers on possible improvements. The Cyber Security Council includes representatives of different state institutions that form and implement the cyber security policy, institutions representing critical information infrastructure managers, IT business entities, and science and education institutions.