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Industry fund weighs in to help combat cyber crime

Stephen Gadd
May 22nd, 2018


This article is more than 6 years old.

Hacking is increasingly becoming one of the banes of the modern age for firms in Denmark and worldwide

Danish firms need to up their game if they are to avoid becoming victims of hacking (graphic: Max Pixel)

Danish firms and institutions have found out to their cost that hacking can have a major impact on their bottom line and cause great inconvenience – both Maersk and DSB being recent examples.

In an effort to change behaviour amongst companies and employees and to strengthen IT security the industry fund, Industriens Fond, has earmarked 100 million kroner for new initiatives.

Here to stay
“The problem is that this type of crime impacts in many different ways and it will not decrease in future,” said Sten Scheibye, a member of the board of the fund.

“It is all about being clued up – both technically and competence-wise – in order to be able to resist these attacks best,” he added.

As more and more products become digitalised, so the risk of hacking increases. Even household appliances can act as ‘Trojan horses’ for hackers.

Security gives the edge
Much of Danish industry is comprised of subcontractors. “When large companies buy from their subcontractors, security has to be ok otherwise the finished products will not be good enough,” said Mads Lebech, the fund’s administrative director.

For subcontractors, it is all about being able to devise secure products and safe technical solutions and at the same time, being able to document this to current and future customers. That will give a competitive edge,” adds Lebech.

At the moment, the fund is in dialogue with industry and other interested parties to assess their needs and decide which areas should be supported.


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”