Italy’s digitization speed “has been three times its evolution”. Thus “we are not ready, but no country is ready” to defend itself with all the effective tools against cyber attacks. The contrasting action increases every day. More and more extensive and intense, constantly updated. But with varying effectiveness: at times “a Sisyphean fatigue” appears. Roberto Baldoni, director of the national cybersecurity agency, and Luciano Carta, president of Leonardo, at the 36th conference Young Entrepreneurs of Confindustria tell without beating about the bush a scenario of rampant risks and critical issues. It is forbidden to underestimate, maximum attention is required.
“No one is safe”
The director of the ACN explains: “The digital transformation that has been created is weak and is prone to attacks.” They are “a serious problem: they must be taken for the threat of this century”. It may sound like scaremongering. In reality, the message of Carta and Baldoni is a pressing invitation to collective and individual awareness. The most important political signal so far has been given by the government chaired by Mario Draghi “with the establishment of the Cybersecurity Agency – recalls Baldoni – but other countries in Europe and Israel began decades ago”. A mission, that of ACN, with a long list of objectives. Like, Baldoni underlines, the “fundamental one of forging a solid and strategic relationship with private parties”.
Digital: development factor
«We can define digital as an instrument of conquest. It has given speed to the production system in general and new business models: let’s think of smart cities, autonomous driving, telemedicine. Our whole life is marked by this »recalled Leonardo’s president. “Cyber space is a possibility of economic development, it represents what they call the fifth dimension, but it is also a possibility of conflictuality”. Digital is an unstoppable and boundless process, new and now essential lifeblood for the growth of the economy. But Carta and Baldoni repeatedly did not hide their concerns.
Digital: risk factor
The nightmare, that of a large-scale cyber attack, is now always lurking. A continuous. The Siae case is only the latest, perhaps even more disturbing. Carta points out: «Siae had equipped itself with a perimeter that should have protected it from attacks. But it wasn’t enough. The case is only the latest in a long series ». The efforts on the contrast are continuous, but the president of Leonardo admits: «The search for an unassailable cyber protection system is a Sisyphean effort. We must not be under the illusion that technological innovation protects us ». As many know, in the Greek myth Sisyphus was condemned by Zeus to push a huge boulder along the slope of a hill: at the end of the effort the block of stone returned to the valley and Sisyphus had to start over again indefinitely. In the essay of the same name by Albert Camus, Sisyphus thus reveals himself to be aware of his own limitations.
Digital: human factor
The attack and defense strategies against the cyber threat are all being updated. Sure, you can develop and invest in the finest protection technologies. The costs, however, are not within everyone’s reach, while the holes where hackers enter for large attacks are often among the smallest and weakest subjects. Thus remains the other great daily challenge: «The human factor. Among other things, we will develop all the professionals capable of intervening to mitigate the attacks »observes Baldoni. “Smartworking has dramatically expanded the attackable platform – recalls Carta – Italy, according to recent studies, is the second country, behind Spain, for the number of cyber attacks”. Weaknesses, incompetence, illicit pressures of all kinds and trivial material errors: everything happens. Carta concludes: “a new point of balance is needed between political sovereignty, economy and the protection needs of individuals”.