“Telia” will strengthen Lithuania’s digital immunity – it establishes a Center for Digital Progress

The last few decades have seen rapid digitization of the world, with advances in artificial intelligence, data analytics, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and many other fields developing at an incredible speed. However, along with them, new threats are emerging that both residents, businesses and state institutions face. Therefore, the largest Lithuanian telecommunications company Telia undertakes a mission to strengthen Lithuania’s digital immunity and for this purpose establishes the Center for Digital Progress.

Lithuanian society today can certainly be called digital. According to the data of the Department of Statistics, 88 percent of households have Internet access and use information technology. Internet is 82 percent. everyday life of the population.

Businesses are even more dependent on digital technologies – all companies in Lithuania have computers and Internet access. More than three quarters of them have created websites, 89 percent. use information obtained from the websites of government institutions, and 54 percent uses audio and video calling programs on the Internet.

However, as the level of digitization of society increases, risks also increase – this is confirmed by Lithuanian police statistics, which show that last year, compared to 2021, the number of registered criminal acts in the electronic space increased by as much as 52 percent, and this type of crime accounted for 12 percent. all offenses registered in Lithuania.

The level of cyber threats in Lithuania has also only grown in recent years. According to the National Cyber ​​Security Center (NKSC), last year more than 4 thousand were recorded in the country. cyber incidents. According to the data of the Lithuanian Banks Association, in 2022 financial fraudsters defrauded Lithuanian residents and companies of almost 12 million euros. For comparison, in 2020 this amount reached 5 million euros.

Expertise will be used for public education

“The computer, the mobile phone, the Internet, social networks and other modern technologies have dramatically changed the world we live in, and in recent years, due to the pandemic, it was possible to observe a real surge in digitization, when more and more aspects of everyday life became inextricably intertwined with cyberspace. This opens up new opportunities for progress, but also creates new threats. Resistance to them is one of the conditions for the welfare of society and the stability of the country,” says Andrius Šemeškevičius, head of Telia’s Digital Progress Center.

According to the technology expert, as one of the largest technology companies in Lithuania, Telia directly contributes to the aforementioned digitization processes and enables them. At the same time, the company sees the cyber threats that accompany the development of technology and is well aware of the cost of not protecting against them. Feeling its responsibility, the company gathered experts from different fields working in it to increase the resistance of Lithuanian people and businesses to digital threats.

Telia’s Center for Digital Progress will create, systematize and provide information and knowledge for the people and businesses of the country, necessary for strengthening the digital immunity of the country and for taking advantage of the opportunities provided by technology. Darius Povilaitis, who will be responsible for cyber security, Diana Gold, who delves into the topics of digitization and analytics, Indrė Bimbirytė-Yun, who specializes in sustainability and social responsibility, and artificial intelligence expert, law professor Dr. . Paulius Pakutinskas.

It will delve into the five most important topics

According to A. Šemeškevičius, the center currently considers the most important topics of digital inclusion, data protection and privacy, cyber security, children’s safety on the Internet and the development of artificial intelligence. Their relevance is evidenced by the data of a study conducted on the initiative of “Telia”, which shows that 60 percent Lithuanian residents do not feel completely safe when using the Internet. 16 percent residents said they faced cyber attacks. 71 percent of them revealed that he had experienced such attacks in the last year.

Half of the population (51%) admitted that they pay little attention to the protection of their data, and only 46%. I think Lithuanians know exactly what data protection and privacy are. Children’s safety online is also a problem. The fact that 60 percent residents at least occasionally upload photos of their children to the Internet, which is perfectly illustrated.

In addition, the survey data highlights the still-existing problem of the digital divide. It turned out that 3 out of 5 Lithuanian residents face challenges when using digital services. The knowledge of how to use certain digital services is most lacking among older Lithuanians aged 55-64.

The study was conducted by the KOG Institute in April of this year on behalf of Telia, after surveying 1,010 people in the age group of 16-64 in Lithuania.

Uzsak.