“Currently we’re only talking about DDoS attacks, but we need to look at things more broadly. Our government is not investing enough in cybersecurity. And this too is part of national resilience,” underlines David Criekemans.
During a DDoS attack, servers are saturated with requests, making them inaccessible to users. Hackers cannot steal data this way, however. These attacks are therefore not very dangerous, according to the CCB.
The sites of the cities of Liège and Herstal in turn targeted by a cyberattack
“It’s true, but they concern the weakest link: more and more local authorities are using online applications. We cannot exclude that attacks will become more sophisticated in the future. Our ports also seem more vulnerable than we thought,” continues the UAntwerpen professor.
“It’s not enough”
Mr. Criekemans therefore urges the authorities to take this threat seriously. “At the Flemish level, we sometimes have the impression that this is a federal matter. The army is in the process of setting up a cyber component, but it is not enough,” he explains.
The Baltic states have faced cyberattacks from Russia-linked groups for much longer than Belgium. “Every crisis represents an opportunity. They are now well advanced in this area and also have an active business sector in digital security. It’s not just a cost. By pooling our knowledge, we can also win economically.”
