Associate Professor L. Bukauskas: “There Are No Borders in the Cyber World”

The Swedish news channel "SVT" featured researchers of Vilnius University's (VU) Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics (MIF). Dr Linas Bukaukas and Eduardas Kutka spoke about cybersecurity challenges and battles between "trolls" and "elves" in cyberspace.

Sweden's "SVT" was interested in the cyber threats inside Lithuania, as the Baltic state shares borders with some countries that pose political challenges. At the end of last year, journalist Christoffer Wendick visited the VU MIF Institute of Informatics and the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy to find out what measures are being taken in the country to contain cyber threats.

Dr Linas Bukauskas, Head of the Cyber Security Laboratory, stresses that in the cyber world, there are no borders, so we must always remain vigilant. The internet has evolved from the principle of autonomous systems interacting in a trust-based manner. In the "SVT" news report, Dr Bukauskas explains that as the internet became global and digital services evolved, accessible from any corner of the world, this has created the conditions for a crime: "The absence of a physical distance or "border" and the almost instantaneous access to resources in the digital space requires the provider of internet services to think about not only the functionality of the service, the look and feel and the quality of the service, but also about how it can be manipulated for abuse or crime."

E. Kutka adds that everyone who uses the internet must be careful and maintain at least a minimum level of cyber hygiene: "We don't stick our fingers into an electrical socket at home."

According to the Head of the Cyber Security Laboratory, IT professionals who develop systems need to know and be able to do more than prepare subsystems for interoperability. It is essential to ensure their security by implementing and developing additional security systems and algorithms to protect resources. Researchers from the Cyber Security Lab work with Information Technology and Computer Modelling students to analyze regulations, assess vulnerabilities, and develop future technological solutions. These solutions can protect both systems and people. The lab also develops educational tools for security risk assessment, competency development, and training.

Wendick was interested in how a supercomputer could be used for cyber security. The report also highlighted fights between cyber "trolls" and "elves".

E. Kutka, ITAPC computer network administrator at VU MIF, explained to "SVT" News that supercomputers provide additional computing power, which allows for results to be obtained much more quickly when analyzing data from cyber intrusions. Supercomputers help train artificial intelligence systems to monitor the data flow and, if dangerous patterns are detected, to inform those responsible or block them immediately. However, in most cases, MIF researchers work with historical data to analyze what happened and how it happened and to make recommendations on how to defend against similar attacks.

The "elves" - a group of cyber-activists fighting pro-Kremlin propaganda and disinformation campaigns is a growing but little-known phenomenon. Starting in 2014 with less than 20 people in Lithuania, the movement has expanded to 13 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, and by 2021 had already attracted around 4000 volunteers.

According to Kutka, the "elves" operate anonymously and focus on combating hybrid threats primarily carried out by the Kremlin and its proxies. The representative of the General J. Žemaitis Military Academy said that their work is voluntary, unpaid, and independent of states and governments. Their activities are strictly legal - they strongly condemn any criminal activity such as hacking or cyber espionage - and are mostly limited to monitoring Russian disinformation and its perpetrators, such as trolls.