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International News in Brief: Danish cybersecurity amongst the best in the world

Ben Hamilton
February 7th, 2019


This article is more than 5 years old.

In other news, Morocco is stepping up its security in the wake of the murders of two Scandinavian backpackers, and Denmark is finally taking an interest in the home-grown Jehovah’s Witness imprisoned in Russia, but is it too late?

Not high on the hacker’s hit-list: to target or to live in (photo: Pixabay)

Denmark has the fourth best cybersecurity in the world, according to a survey of 60 countries by comparitech.com.

The study considered seven criteria: preparation for dealing with cyber-attacks; percentage of mobiles and computers infected with malware; number of financial malware attacks; percentage of originating telnet and cryptominer attacks; and effectiveness of legislation.

And Denmark topped the rankings for having the lowest percentage of computer malware infections – just 5.9 percent of users – and also for cryptominer attacks.

In addition, some 12.04 percent of Danish mobiles are infected with malware and it had the fourth rate of telnet attacks, but it could be better prepared for attacks and its legislation could be more up-to-date.

Japan leading the way
Overall, Japan topped the rankings, followed by France, Canada, Denmark and the United States.

Algeria, meanwhile, was found to be the least cyber-secure country in the world, followed by Indonesia, Vietnam, Tanzania, and Uzbekistan – although many countries that would have performed worse were not surveyed.

Among the other findings, Germany endures the most financial malware attacks, China was the worst for telnet attacks, Bangladesh the worst for mobile malware infections, Algeria the worst for computer malware infections, Uzbekistan the worst for cryptominer attacks, Vietnam the worst prepared, and Algeria has the worse legislation.


German authorities approves Fehmarn transport link 
The Schleswig-Holstein local government has approved the construction of the Fehmarn transport link between Germany and Denmark. The political agreement was green-lighted in late December, and it has now been officially signed and handed over to Femern A/S, the company responsible for the connection. Objections can still be raised in Germany, but the approval will be greeted with immense relief from the constructors, as the project looked like it could be seriously delayed at one point last year.

Morocco steps up mountain security following Scandinavian murders
The Moroccan authorities are introducing stricter security criteria following the murder of Danish traveller Louise Vesterager Jespersen and her Norwegian friend Maren Ueland in the Atlas mountains in December. From now on, tourists will be required to have an authorised guide when they visit the mountains, a curfew of 16:00 will be introduced in relation to scaling North Africa’s highest peak, Mt Toubkal, and tourists will no longer be able to sleep in tents. Registration at local police stations will also be required.

Shutting the door to the Jehovah’s Witness after the horse has bolted
Socialdemokratiet’s spokesperson for foreign affairs, Nick Hækkerup, has left it a little late to speak up in defence of Dennis Christensen, the Jehovah’s Witness who was yesterday sentenced to six years for following a religion that is now classified as extremism. A prison sentence had always looked likely, but  Hækkerup waited until after the verdict, urging the foreign minister, Anders Samuelsen, to “raise the case with the Russian authorities” and get Christensen extradited, arguing that Russia is internationally bound to comply with all the human rights conventions relating to religious freedom. Christensen himself has confirmed he will appeal.

Vestager in the news again following rejection of rail merger
Margrethe Vestager, the EU Competition Commissioner, is ruffling feathers in central Europe after ruling against a proposed merger of the rail mobility businesses of German company Siemens and French outfit Alstom. Her ruling claims the merger, which the rail equipment manufacturers hoped would enable it to internationally compete with Chinese giant CRRC, would hurt competition in the European train industry.

 


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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.”