Lithuania sets up National Centre of Cyber Security

The National Centre of Cyber Security formed on the basis of a section of the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence will be inaugurated on 1 January, as provided for in the amendments of the Law on Cyber Security and other related legal acts approved by the Seimas of Lithuania on December 11.

The Law lays down the role of forming, coordinating and implementing policy of cyber defence for the Ministry of National Defence to the extent of state. The key operator in the implementation of the policy will be the newly established National Centre of Cyber Security.

The activity of the Centre will focus on ensuring cyber security of information resources and critical information infrastructure of the state.

The Centre will analyse cyber security environment, will draft requirements for ensuring cyber security of information resources in the public sector and of critical infrastructure as well as plans for managing cyber security and cyber threats, will coordinate and supervise leading officials of institutions as they implement cyber security measures, and will also investigate and respond to cyber incidents.

Relying on global best practices, the Centre is planned to generate a platform for information exchange which will facilitate expedient exchange of information on emerging threats and cyber incidents among cyber defence staff, and help them coordinate their response to emergency situations.

The National Centre of Cyber Defence will be formed by rearranging the Communications and Information Systems Service under the Ministry of National Defence. The core staff of the new centre will be made up by the personnel of the Cyber Security Section of the Ministry of National Defence. The Centre’s activities are planned to expand gradually.

The Centre is planned to cooperate with other institutions actively, particularly in conducting investigations of cyber incidents. The Communications Regulatory Authority, the Police Department, and the State Data Protection Inspectorate will be the key partners of the Centre in the fight against cyber threats.

The Centre is also planned to cooperate with the NATO Cyber Security Centre of Excellence in Estonia and other international organisations working in the area of cyber security.

Representatives of the National Centre of Cyber Security underline that the Centre will not take over such functions as design, administration or security of computer networks of public or private entities, the main responsibility for ensuring security of information and computer networks remains with operators.

The key mission of the Centre will be to provide consultations and render advice for the institutions it will cooperate with, to supervise the implementation of cyber security measures, and to render assistance in case of cyber incidents.

The demand for allocations for the National Centre of Cyber Security is expected to amount to roughly LTL 3.3 m in 2015. The major part of the funds will be used for acquiring cyber security software and hardware.