Municipalities play a crucial role in strengthening Swedish cyber defense

Since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, Ukraine has made significant investments in educating its population in cyber and information security. In this context, the contributors in GP argue that Sweden has much to learn.

“The conflict in Ukraine has provided valuable insights into digital warfare. Despite Russia’s persistent, intense, and frequent attacks, the superpower has failed to compromise Ukraine’s crucial digital infrastructure. This resilience has enabled Ukraine to resist on the battlefield, dominate the information war, and, most importantly, boost the morale of its citizens.”

Hacker groups associated with Russia have recently launched major attacks against countries they perceive as enemies. In the fall, the NoName057 group conducted a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on several Finnish websites. Simultaneously, Swedish IP addresses may have been used in attacks against Ukraine. Sweden is inadequately prepared in terms of cybersecurity.

“In a scenario where an attack occurs against Sweden in the 2020s, we can no longer rely solely on the air force, navy, or army. An attack will unfold on multiple dimensions, with the digital dimension being the most crucial in undermining civilian defense willingness. In today’s digital society, we are vulnerable when essential systems are compromised. ‘Keep calm and carry on’ is only effective as long as we have access to what we consider basic amenities: heating, water, electricity, internet. More likely, or rather a reality, is that the attacks will occur before a military invasion,” the contributors write, noting that municipalities play a central role in reinforcing Swedish cybersecurity.

Through hackathons and education, Ukraine has built the most cyber intrusion-resistant population globally. With a large-scale cyber war in Sweden’s immediate vicinity, there are plenty of lessons and conclusions to draw.

Read the entire op-ed here.