Electronic banking
Cyber security

Safe electronic banking: how to protect your account from fraudsters?

Today, we cannot imagine our lives without being able to pay for goods and services with our card or through electronic banking. Making financial transactions has become much easier and faster. Do these improvements come at a cost of security? Below, Tomas Stamulis, the Information Security Management Team Lead at ATEA, describes the fundamentals of security in electronic banking. […]

Cyber spy
Cyber security

Everyone can be both a victim of and a tool for cyberattacks – how to prevent this?

Cyberattacks are becoming an increasingly greater problem in the whole world. This applies to Lithuania too. It is estimated that Lithuania experienced 55 thousand cyberattacks last year. Below, Monika Žemgulytė, Project Manager of cybersecurity competences at “Cyber Security Academy” talks about how these attacks are carried out and how to avoid falling victim to them. […]

Cooperation
Cyber security

Cyberspace is becoming a warzone and international cooperation is more important than ever

The number of cyberattacks in Lithuania and in the world is rising every year. State acting individually are no longer capable of guarding their societies from these threats. Below, Agnija Tumkevič, a lecturer at the Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science, explains why cyberattacks are dangerous to our state and where Lithuania seeks opportunities for international cooperation. […]

Asociatyvi nuotr.
Cyber security

The eternal question for parents: should I post photos of my children?

It is estimated that parents in the US upload over 1500 photos of their children to social media before the children turn five. 92% of two-year old toddlers already have a “digital footprint”, and one-third of all US children appear on social media within the first hours of their birth. Though similar studies have not yet been carried out in Lithuania, the observed tendencies are broadly identical: more and more parents post pictures of their children online, without really thinking of the consequences of such actions. […]

Lottery
Cyber security

Participating in lotteries and sweepstakes: are we paying too much for a chance to win?

When unsolicited email begins flooding your inbox, or when vendors send SMS messages offering random goods and services, most people probably get quite annoyed. However, too often people willingly give away their consent to use their personal data to participate in various loyalty programs, sales, or lotteries without thinking about how this data would be managed. […]

No Picture
Cyber security

Staying safe on social media: what is important to know and tell children?

Today, it is hard to imagine our daily life without social media. Social networks have given us the opportunity to share various moments of our lives with our friends, to quickly get the most recent news, and to reach any friend in real-time in one click. However, our massive reliance on social media has a dark side too: it not only distorts people’s social ties and may have adverse effects on children, but also has become an ecosystem for criminals and cybercriminals to exploit. […]

Cyber spy
Cyber security

Cyber spies can operate in your computer: how to protect yourself against them?

Criminals are becoming increasingly innovative in the technological age. One of the tools cybercriminals use is so-called spyware – applications that allow criminals to break into the victim’s computer or phone and to collect the victim’s personal data without their knowledge. Later, this information is used for extracting money from the victim’s bank account, as well as for other crimes. […]

Offensive content
Cyber security

Offensive and illegal content online threatens adults as well as children

Studies show that, on average, 65% of internet users have experienced some kind of an online threat. Most common types of threat include unwanted messengers from strangers, false messages, offensive communication, unwanted sexual messages, or deliberate provocation. […]

No Picture
Cyber security

As online shopping becomes more popular, more and more fraudulent sellers appear: how to avoid them?

According to Eurostat, the statistics agency of the European Union, Lithuania is one of the leading EU members in terms of goods and services sold online. Online shopping becomes increasingly popular because it gives an opportunity to quickly and conveniently choose the desired goods, but its popularity also attracts fraudsters who aim to exploit the new consumer habits. Below, Tomas Parnarauskas, an ESET cybersecurity specialist, talks about how to recognize and avoid fraud while shopping online. […]

Lithuania
Cyber security

The history of Lithuanian statehood has always been built by members of various ethnic communities

Ethnic minorities in Lithuania lived through the same historical tendencies as the country in which they live: the highs and the lows, the occupations, the political crises and persecution, various reforms. These processes changed the structure of the Lithuanian society and the composition of Lithuanian cities. Below, Zenonas Butkus, a history professor at the Vilnius University, sheds light on how various ethnic minorities in Lithuania became an inseparable part of our society, participated in building the Lithuanian state, defending our statehood and independence. […]

Siren
Cyber security

Experts warn about attempts to artificially escalate panic

Specialists involved in the matter expect that states antagonistic to Lithuania might manipulate information about the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, currently under construction in Ostrovets, just 50 kilometers away from Vilnius, to escalate panic in the society. Edgaras Geda, the Head of the Civilian Security Agency at the Fire and Rescue Department warns, that false messages about incidents at the plant might reach Lithuania through various media, including even the established channels. […]

Internet troll
Cyber security

How to recognize and neutralize the propaganda-spreading “trolls” and “bots” that are occupying the Internet

As the social media culture took hold of our society, it opened up opportunities not only for socialization, self-realization, and the spread of information, but also for abuse. Today, Internet online harassment or bullying aims not only at specific individuals, but also at the broader society. Below, Tomas Stamulis, the manager at the Informational security control group ATEA (JSC), explains how to recognize “trolls” and “bots”, as well as how to counter the abuse they spread online. […]

Lithuania and Poland
Cyber security

Searching for things in common between Lithuanians and Poles may be the best response to the efforts to divide them

States antagonistic to Lithuania often employ the strategy of “divide and conquer” to foment division within the country and between it and its allies. Below, Dr. Viktor Denisenko, Assistant at the Political Communications Department at the Vilnius University Communications School sheds light on what the tools are used to exert informational pressure and to divide Lithuanian and Polish societies, as well as on how to best search for common ground between the two nations. […]

No Picture
Cyber security

How to check that cybercriminals don’t hide behind incoming requests for help

Many have seen heart-wrenching stories about people struggling with serious disease or experiencing difficulties after unexpected misfortune such as a natural disaster circulate online. Unfortunately, such stories – and the requests to donate money or otherwise help these people – may simply be a cynical scheme to extract money from unsuspecting people. Experts list 5 recommendations on how to best recognize if cybercriminals hide behind a request for help. […]

Identity theft
Cyber security

Identity thieves do not restrict themselves to your bank accounts

Most people leave a substantial trace in the virtual space. However, few think about the fact that any data circulating in the social media or on the computer and the phone, may be accessed and exploited by cybercriminals. Below, Dr. Rytis Rainys, the Director of the National Cyber Security Center at the Ministry of Defense talks about what personal identity theft is and how to avoid it. […]

Poland and Lithuania
Cyber security

Lithuania’s ethnic minorities played an important role in the fight for freedom

The Lithuanian military cannot guard the state properly without public support. This is well understood by states antagonistic to Lithuania, which try to weaken our state by sowing conflict and discord between various societal groups in Lithuania and by diminishing the importance of national defense. Despite the efforts by antagonistic states, the Lithuanian ethnic communities continue to play an important role in the modern effort to strengthen state security, just as they did in the historical effort to secure Lithuanian independence. […]

Lietuva ir Lenkija
Cyber security

Lithuanian and Polish cooperation in defense and energy is in the crosshairs of the Kremlin’s propaganda

The Kremlin propaganda agents are noticeably intensifying their effort to drive a wedge between Lithuania and Poland. Below, Tomas Janeliūnas, a professor at the Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science, describes the main tools of informational pressure Russia uses to this goal and the reasons for these manipulations. […]