Incredibilmente interessante. Sulla weaponizzazione delle tecnologie informatiche si dovrebbe fare una grande campagna di informazione.
Io avevo pensato alla corruzione di un dipendente che possa segnalare o getire segnalazioni su Piracy Shield , usato per spegnere internet in Italia. Sarà già un'arma negli arsenali di n attori geopolitici? On mer, 2024-10-30 at 14:35 +0100, Alberto Cammozzo via nexa wrote: > < > https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/30/sweden-and-norway-rethink-cashless-society-plans-over-russia-security-fears > > > > > Sweden and Norway rethink cashless society plans over Russia security fears > > Miranda Bryant > > Sweden and Norway are backpedalling on plans for cashless societies over fears > that fully digital payment systems would leave them vulnerable to Russian > security threats, and concern for those unable to use them. > > A combination of good high-speed internet coverage, high digital literacy > rates, large rural populations and fast-growing fintech industries had put the > Nordic neighbours on a fast track to a future without cash. > > Swish, a mobile payment system that six banks launched in 2012, is ubiquitous > in Sweden, from market stalls to coffee shops and clothes stores. The > Norwegian equivalent, Vipps, which merged with Danish MobilePay in 2022 to > form Vipps MobilePay, is also very popular. Last month, it also launched in > Sweden. > > The former deputy governor of Sweden’s central bank predicted in 2018 that > Sweden would probably be cashless by 2025. > > But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and a subsequent rise in cross-border > hybrid warfare and cyber-attacks blamed on pro-Russia groups have prompted a > rethink. > > The Swedish government has since completely overhauled its defence and > preparedness strategy, joining Nato, starting a new form of national service > and reactivating its psychological defence agency to combat disinformation > from Russia and other adversaries. Norway has tightened controls on its > previously porous border with Russia. > > The security rethink extends to the fundamentals of how people pay for goods > and services. > > In a brochure with the title If Crisis or War Comes that will be sent to every > home in Sweden next month, the defence ministry advises people to use cash > regularly and keep at least a week’s supply in various denominations as well > as access to other forms of payment such as bank cards and digital payment > services. “If you can pay in several different ways, you strengthen your > preparedness,” it says. > > The government is also considering legislation to protect the ability to pay > in cash for certain goods. Cash is legal tender in Sweden, but shops and > restaurants can effectively make themselves cashless as long as they display a > notice setting out their restrictions on payment methods. > > Norwegian retail customers have always had the right to pay in cash, but it > has not been enforced and in recent years increasing numbers of retailers have > gone cashless, locking out about 600,000 people who do not have access to > digital services. The government acted over the summer, bringing in > legislation under which retailers can be fined or sanctioned if they do not > accept cash payments from 1 October. > > The justice and public security ministry said it “recommends everyone keep > some cash on hand due to the vulnerabilities of digital payment solutions to > cyber-attacks”. It said the government took preparedness seriously “given the > increasing global instability with war, digital threats, and climate change. > As a result, they’ve ensured that the right to pay with cash is strengthened”. > > The country’s justice and emergencies minister, Emilie Enger Mehl, said > earlier this year: “If no one pays with cash and no one accepts cash, cash > will no longer be a real emergency solution once the crisis is upon us.” > Prolonged power cuts, system failures or digital attacks on payment systems > and banks could leave cash as “the only alternative that is easily available”, > she said. > > Max Brimberg, a researcher at Sweden’s central bank, said the move away from > cash had been driven largely by the private sector. Many of the country’s > banks abolished cash in local branches some time ago, which made digital > payment services easy to roll out to a very willing public. > > > The percentage of cash purchases in physical shops has fallen from almost 40% > in 2012 to about 10% in recent years, and Brimberg said there was growing > concern about cash becoming obsolete. > > “That’s something that we as a central bank and also the central government > see as a potential risk, especially for the people who still haven’t adopted > the digital economy and also for preparedness if there were to be a weaponised > attack or armed attack against Sweden or a close country,” he said. “So cash > fills a very specific role in the payment system, both because it’s issued by > the state but also because it’s the only form of payment that we can use if > the systems for electricity or communications networks don’t work as they > usually do.” > > Because all Swedish payment systems were part of one ecosystem, an attack > could bring society to a standstill, he said. > > “Pretty much any function that you do in society you have to use some sort of > payment or verification analysis, either by electronic ID or electronic > payment,” he said. “All of those would be at risk of undermining the > functionality of the entire system in Sweden if it were to fail.” > > The central bank is looking into creating and issuing an “e-krona” that would > act as a “digital complement to cash”, but implementation would require a > political mandate. > > Hans Liwång, a professor of systems science for defence and security at the > Swedish Defence University, said there was a lack of evidence about whether > cash was better than digital payments in the face of modern threats. Pointing > to Ukraine, where digital systems have proved vital to its resilience, he > said: “Ukraine is a very good example of moving into the future when there is > war rather than backwards.” >
