Czech gov't approves national cyber security strategy

The Czech governmnet approved on Monday a national cyber security strategy for the next five years, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka announced after the Cabinet meeting.

The strategy counts with deeper cooperation between the state and the private sector, including a system of sharing the information concerning threats, incidents and current dangers, according to Sobotka.

The document was drafted by Czech National Security Office (NBU), whose responsibility includes cyber security.

According to the strategy, Czech Republic should be active in international cooperation, act as a promoter for cyber security in Central Europe and of a dialogue among the countries in the region.

The protection of important information systems is to be improved, according to the strategy.

The document also supports the police and their task to investigate and prosecute cyber crime.

The strategy, according to government documents, is rather a general material on which should establish a plan of action for its fulfilment. The plan should specify the main goals, outline the relevant plan and define subjects to be responsible. The government is expected to discuss the plan in the middle of 2015.

Czech police recorded 4,348 cases of cyber crime in 2014, which is three times more compared to 2011. As from Jan. 1, 2016, a special police unit for fighting cyber crime is to start operation, which will help the representatives of the NBU. Cyber crime is most linked to moral crime, copyright violations, blackmail, fraud, spreading of malicious viruses or identity theft on social networks.

A new law, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2015 in Czech and on which the strategy leans, is aimed to speed up the state's reaction to cyber threats and make it more effective. It specifies the rules of cooperation between the private sector and civil service in preventing attacks on information technologies. Endit