Cyberattacks or cyber incidents

Attacks on organisations or societal functions are particularly prone to cause extensive incidents. Large-scale cyberattacks that would cripple society are unlikely in Finland.

The attacks may target

• essential services such as healthcare or banking services
• critical infrastructure such as energy systems, transport, information and communication systems and water supply
• critical tasks of the state, such as defence, rescue operations, public elections or classified information
• the Suomi.fi identification used by most government services

Identifying the perpetrator of a cyberattack is often difficult.

The motives of the attack range from bullying and protesting to international cybercrime and government influencing, with an aim to, for example, undermine trust in society’s ability to produce key digital services or the authorities’ ability to perform their tasks.

Ensuring cybersecurity requires seamless cooperation between companies and authorities built on trust. The public sector, business life and civil society collaborate closely to prepare for and react to cyber incidents. The authorities control the management of the incident according to their respective tasks and powers.

As society becomes increasingly digital, industries and different sectors of society depend more and more on each other. Few incidents concern only one sector or administrative branch.

The National Cyber Security Centre Finland (NCSC-FI) at the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom is a national information security authority that

• produces a situational picture of cybersecurity and works together with different operators
• safeguards society’s vital functions from cybersecurity threats
• supports, guides and supervises information security and the implementation of privacy protection in electronic communications.

The European Union strives to improve cyber threat resilience, combat cybercrime and promote cyber diplomacy and defence in various ways. Legislation, methods and standards are also continuously developed in Finland.

Read more about Finland's Cyber Security Strategy in Finnish and Swedish on the website of the Ministry of Finance.Opens in a new window.

Prepare for situations where

• your Internet and telephone connections may be interrupted
• the attack may cause a long power cut
• you cannot pay with your card in shops and banking services may be inaccessible
• official services or websites cannot be used
• traffic control disruptions may lead to chaos in transport.

Think about what you would do if the services did not work. For more information about preparing for different types of incidents, see the corresponding sections in this guide.

A serious data breach causes a great deal of harm to people and society. Investigating the matter causes psychological strain on the victims and uses up their time. The situation may undermine trust in societal actors.

If the service you are using or some other party processing your data is subject to a data breach, follow the instructions provided by the service provider and the authorities.

Also see the instructions for situations where your information may have or has fallen into the wrong hands:

• My personal data has been stolen or leaked - Suomi.fiOpens in a new window.
• Data has been stolen or leaked from my organisation - Suomi.fiOpens in a new window.

Prepare for attempted cyberattacks and also take care of the competence and information security of your loved ones, such as your children and parents.

• Make sure that accounts and services have good unique passwords and use multi-factor authentication (MFA) in the services that enable its use.
• Do not share your login IDs or passwords with others. Be particularly cautious if you receive an unsolicited call from a person who claims to work in IT support or a bank or for the police.
• Learn how to identify online scams.
• Install device updates. They fix software errors and improve the features and security of your devices.
• Make sure all your devices connected to the internet, your home internet connection and your router are secure. Also remember that your smartphone is a computer that needs to be protected.
• Do not open links whose sender you do not recognize or that seem suspicious.

When visiting the websites of the authorities or a bank, for instance, make sure that the website is genuine

Read more:

• Instructions for identifying the most common scams - nytvalppaana.fiOpens in a new window.
• Instructions for protecting devices and your data -
  National Cyber Security Centre Opens in a new window.

Make sure you are using several electronic identification tools, as cyberattacks can interfere with the e-services requiring strong identification.

Strong electronic identification services include

• online banking codes
• mobile certificates of telecommunications companies
• the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s citizen certificate with an identity card issued by the police and some other identification certificates
• identification broker services registered with various organisation cards.

Read more:

• Mobile certificate - Mobiilivarmenne.fiOpens in a new window.
• Citizen Certificate - Digital and Population Data Services AgencyOpens in a new window.

Report information security incidents and breaches to the National Cyber Security Centre. You can help prevent new attempts.

You can report:

• phishing
• data breaches
• denial-of-service attacks or attempts

The National Cyber Security Centre investigates events, collects information about them and informs about ongoing threats to information security.

Familiarise yourself with your workplace’s information security guidelines and follow them.

Your activities play an important role in protecting information systems in the workplace. Every employee is responsible for protecting workplace systems, data and customer data.

The information systems of organisations may contain a lot of information that is of interest to criminals. Competence in information security can reduce the risk of third parties entering the company’s information network or endangering the company’s data.

Always notify those responsible for information security at your workplace if you notice suspicious activity or if you accidentally click on a suspicious link. It is vital to notify of the situation immediately to minimise or prevent damage.

Read more:

• Current issues in cyber events for those working with information security - National Cyber Security Centre (in Finland)Opens in a new window.
• Weekly review - National Cyber Security Centre Opens in a new window.

Information that has fallen into the wrong hands as a result of a cyberattack can be used for purposes such as blackmailing data subjects due to the sensitive nature of the data or committing fraud. Such activities often meet the criteria of an offence. If you suspect that you have been the victim of an offence, report the offence to the police.