19th Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum – Opening remarks
Péter Szijjártó, Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade stressed that data has become a primary resource, about as significant as the invention of the steam engine in the 18th century or hydrocarbons in the 20th century. As an example, he highlighted that in 2010, there were around 820 million mobile broadband subscriptions globally, which has now reached 5.2 billion, a six-fold increase in less than ten years. He also noted that in 2010, 2 zettabytes of data were generated, compared to 64.2 zettabytes this year. He stressed that cyber-attacks have increased in frequency and volume, and cybercriminals pose a serious threat not only to private users but also to businesses and public organisations, potentially crippling healthcare systems, as demonstrated by the cyberattack that paralysed 400 hospitals in the US. Home office and distance learning, which were imposed during the coronavirus epidemic, have exacerbated the problem, with many inexperienced users accessing the web, which terrorist and extremist groups are also trying to exploit to spread their ideology. He added that cybercriminals have caused $6,000 billion in damage to businesses worldwide this year, and experts predict that this figure could exceed $10,000 billion by 2025. Hungary is doing everything to protect entrepreneurs and citizens, and our national security strategy places great emphasis on this threat, Szijjártó said, adding that the European Union and NATO will soon adopt a new cybersecurity strategy.
