Lithuania is in the Focus on Cyber Security Assurance
According to representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Embassy in Lithuania who visited Lithuania May 24, all three Baltic countries are working to safeguard the security of their energy infrastructure. The USA is prepared to contribute state-of-the-art technological solutions and tools to strengthen IT systems and ensure cyber security in the region. This was discussed at a meeting involving the participation of the largest in Lithuania Lietuvos Energija Group, electricity transmission system operator Litgrid, Klaipėda Nafta, maintaining a terminal of liquefied natural gas in Klaipėda, and representatives of the Ministries of National Defence, Energy, and Finance, as well as representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Embassy in Lithuania.
“The idea to organise this meeting arose after the Baltic-U.S. Summit held in the USA in April, when all three Baltic Presidents met with the USA President Donald Trump. The USA supports the need to strengthen Lithuanian cyber security, as Lithuania is a NATO partner,” stated Ms. Diane Kohn, Political and Economic Deputy Chief of the U.S. Embassy in Lithuania.
Preparation of the Lithuanian energy sector to repel possible cyber attacks has produced a positive impression on experts of the U.S. Department of Energy. “In the field of cyber security we seek a partnership with all three Baltic countries. Lithuania, as well as Latvia and Estonia are in the focus of our interest, as you are the boundary between the East and the West. On the other hand, currently, no borders are valid for cyber security – danger may arise from any direction of the world. We are here in order to help you prepare even better, also to strengthen technologies and capacities not only to repel cyber attacks, but also to restore a stable situation as soon as possible should they take place,” said Paul Tuminia, Senior Advisor of Office of Europe and Eurasian Affairs of U.S. Department of Energy.
In the opinion of representatives of the Ministry of National Defence forming a cyber security policy in Lithuania, cybersecurity competences and capacities must be strengthened further. ”By ensuring security we expand cooperation limits not only among institutions, but also among states. This visit of experts of the U.S. Department of Energy will strengthen the cooperation developed between Lithuania and USA in the field of cybersecurity and defence,” said Jonas Skardinskas, Director of the Cyber Security and IT Department of the Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania.
While preparing for international activity in the energy sector, Lietuvos Energija, which hosted the meeting, centralized and additionally strengthened the function of cyber security in the group. “We expressed our intention to become global in the new strategy LE 2030 presented several weeks ago. To this effect, we should have not only direct competences in our business, but also a cyber security field organised in a strong, reliable manner and well maintained. The energy sector, associated with essential needs of residents, economic activity of states must be especially secure, especially when we talk about the IT part,” spoke Mr. Darius Maikštėnas, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Lietuvos Energija.
Main activities of Lietuvos Energija Group include power and heat distribution and supply, natural gas trade and distribution as well as construction and maintenance of power plants and grid. Being part of national critical infrastructure, Lietuvos Energija always seeks partnership with other organizations like National Cyber Security Centre under the Ministry of National Defence in cyber defence area. This kind of partnership has already proven itself empowering detection and mitigation of advanced cyber threats. We believe that partnership with U.S. Department of Energy, joint strengthening of cyber defence competencies and capacity should increase resistance to rapidly emerging cyber threats not only for Lietuvos Energija Group but all partners as well.
