The National Response Center for Cybernetic Security Incidents CERT-RO collected and processed over 110 million cyber-security alerts last year, Capital reported. In the first six months of 2017, the number of cyber-security alerts exceeded 72 million.

Despite technical aspects that make it impossible to identify the precise number of affected devices or people associated with the 2.9 million IP addresses or 110 million alerts reported to CERT-RO, these cover some 38.7% of the national cybernetic space, representing the number of IPs allocated in Romania.

Despite an increasing number of cyber-attacks targeting Romania, within the current legal framework, neither CERT-RO nor other institution can compel owners of IT infrastructures to secure their systems or notify incidents, according to a CERT-RO report quoted by Capital.

Some of the devices that can become targets of attracts are the network equipment for home use, such as wireless routers, or the IoT equipment, web cameras, smartTV, smartphones. Once connected to the internet, these become targets for attackers and their vulnerabilities are exploited to compromise the network they are part of or to launch attacks on other internet targets.

“Cyber-criminals will attack any target that could bring them a benefit, regardless of the domain. Any device connected to the Internet can be a target and the information stored on any device can be sold or can be used to undertake new attacks on the infrastructure they are part of,” Mircea Grigoras, deputy GM of CERT, told Capital.

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editor@romania-insider.com