According to the 2017 Annual State of Cybersecurity Report, the center last year detected and neutralized malware more than 450 times.
“NCSC identified the highest number of instances of malicious software in the energy sector (more than 26 percent of all recorded instances), in the public security and legal order sector (over 22 percent), and in the foreign affairs and security policy sector (over 21 percent),” it said in the report.
Deputy Defense Minister Edvinas Kerza says that these incidents are linked to Russia, which is looking for weak spots in Lithuania’s cyberspace.
“Lithuania is interesting for its opponent. Our opponent has been unchanged for years: this is the Russian Federation,” Kerza said as he presented the report to journalists.
“Our progress is being constantly monitored in search of new vulnerabilities,” he added.
The center last year also investigated several incidents involving “highly advanced spyware software linked to foreign intelligence services”.
The vice-minister said that many of these incidents were also linked to Russia.
The center said that this type of software was detected and blocked on computers in several Lithuanian public bodies, but gave no details.
According to the report, the total number of cyber incidents registered in Lithuania increased by one-tenth last year compared with 2016 to reach 54,950 incidents.
In response to the ever-growing number of incidents, NCSC plans to use artificial intelligence for identifying them.
“We estimate that in two to three years’ time, (…) we’ll have to employ artificial intelligence to be able to respond in a timely manner,” Rytis Rainys, the center’s director, said.
According to Kerza, the authorities last year blocked an attempt to carry out a cyber-attack on the Lithuanian Defense Ministry.
The center concludes in the report that the state of cybersecurity in Lithuania improved somewhat in 2017 compared with the previous year, but efforts to ensure cybersecurity are insufficient.