Following the latest cyberattack that affected thousands of companies worldwide due to the WannaCry ransomware, including Telefónica, rendering its systems unusable, concerns about network security have only increased.
Although the authorities in our country have calmed things down by assuring that the situation is now under control and that the probability of a new attack of such magnitude is minimal, the truth is that the figures offered by the National Institute of Cybersecurity (Incibe) are not very encouraging.
And they reflect that, far from decreasing, cyberattacks in the national territory continue to increase.
In the last 5 years, 3 out of 4 Spanish companies have been attacked , while according to Eurostat, 25% of all users have suffered some type of cyberattack, a percentage higher than the European average, which stands at 21%.
In addition, cybercrime complaints increased by 22.3% in the first quarter of 2017.
But what is the reason for these worrying figures? According to experts, it is due to the low budgets allocated to the protection of the online environment. This was confirmed by the national authorities at a conference on internet security held this week in Madrid and reported by the newspaper El País.
"More is invested in fences than in cybersecurity. Where do they think the bosnia and herzegovina phone number next attack will come from, from the fence or from a firewall? This threat is not being responded to with the agility or forcefulness that is needed. It seems that they are waiting for something more serious to happen," explained Enrique Cubeiro, head of Operations of the Joint Cyberdefense Command.
He also took the opportunity to call for the need to invest more resources in an issue of enormous importance, even though many consider it a minor issue.
"Many people in senior strategic leadership still see the issue as a Chinese tale, but cybersecurity is one of the most critical capabilities for a state today," he added.
The need for greater investment in this area is evident if we look at the figures allocated to online security in our country and in those around us.
Spain is the third country that receives the most cyberattacks, behind the United States and the United Kingdom. However, the difference is that while the United States spends 1.5 billion dollars on the fight against online criminals and the United Kingdom invests 2.3 billion euros, Spain only allocates 24.3 million euros to Incibe and 161 million to the CNI.
These numbers present an alarming situation, especially considering the growing threat that exists on the Internet.