MPs miss important pieces of the cybersecurity puzzle

Two Moderate members of parliament are taking a hard line against the previous government regarding Swedish cyber security. Jörgen Berglund, group leader of the defense committee (M) and Camilla Brunsberg, responsible for cyber security in the defense committee (M) write in a debate article (AB 28/8) that the previous government was passive. There are probably many who agree with that.

This government has possibly acted a little too quickly on some points, but above all, the MPs miss some crucial points for information and cyber security.

The M politicians emphasize the value of proprietary security solutions. Let's hope that this does not mean that the government will start developing solutions on its own to any extent. Information security work needs to be market-driven. As the members write, there are many companies in Sweden that have high competence in the area. Give them the chance! The most important thing the government can do is to strengthen the supply of skills in this area.

As is often the case in the debate on information and cyber security, the authors focus on technical solutions and the work of individual authorities. The holistic view is missing. How can we improve information and cyber security across society? How do we get the lowest level up? Here we need to see the complex interplay between technology, organization and operations.

There is already legislation and requirements in information security in a wide variety of areas where the state's responsibility and influence shift. More cyber soldiers - although an important issue in itself - will not help to improve everyday security.

It is good that Berglund and Brunsberg highlight the threat of extortion attacks with hostage programs and the need to protect companies and citizens from cybercrime. These crimes are difficult to investigate and often have an international dimension. It was therefore welcome that the government recently appointed a special envoy for international cyber issues.

Information and cyber security is a complex problem and there is no quick or easy solution. No single actor can solve information and cyber security problems on its own. To strengthen security, we need greater awareness of the threats, more collaboration, improved skills provision and better ability to combat cybercrime.

In our report Tech industry proposals to meet cyber threats, TechSverige develops the proposals on information and cyber security that we launched in 2022 in A tech agenda for Sweden.


Fredrik Sand
Business policy expert
TechSverige