Russians Are Confident Their Homeland Is Secure
Russians are confident their country is well prepared to deal with cyber warfare, more so than Britons or Americans according to a new poll by the Pew Research Centre.
Pipped only by Israel, Russia is the second most self-assured, with 63 percent believing they are prepared for a major cyber-attack. Meanwhile, in the US only 53 percent believe they can hold their ground in a cyber war and in the UK just 46 believe the country is ready.
The poll data, released recently, was taken from 27,612 respondents in 26 countries last summer. As the pace and magnitude of cyber-attacks have increased around the world, a new survey shows that people in multiple countries think it is likely that government data, public infrastructure and elections will be targeted by future hacks.
Opinion is mixed, however, on whether their nations are prepared for such events.
Across the 26 countries surveyed by Pew Research Center, nearly half (47%) say their country is well prepared to handle a major cyberattack, but an equal share disagrees.
Attitudes vary widely by country. Two-thirds or more in Israel (73%) and Russia (67%), for example, say their nations are ready for a major cyber incident, while fewer than one-in-five Brazilians (16%) and Argentines (9%) say the same. In the United States, just over half of Americans (53%) think their country is prepared to handle a major cyberattack.
But half or more in some of the world’s largest economies, including Germany and Japan, think they are not ready for cyber-attacks.
With around half of Americans fearing a major cyber incident, Republicans are more confident in their nation’s readiness than Democrats, 61 percent to 47 percent. Similarly, in most countries, supporters of the ruling party tended to have more faith in their country’s readiness than supporters of the opposition.
Electronic warfare has increasingly shaped defence policies around the world, with potential major hacking incidents hovering over the heads of governments.
NATO has designated cyberspace as a theatre of operations and has sought to boost its tools of electronic warfare over the past year.
Havoc has been wrecked in countries around the world from hacking incidents of unknown origin, revealing holes in cyber systems holding highly sensitive information. This month, hackers published private information related to German political parties and its leaders, except the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
According to the survey, those in South America had the least faith in their government’s readiness for cyber warfare - 37 percent of Mexicans believe their country is ready, 16 percent of Brazilians and just 9 percent of Argentines. Meanwhile, 30 percent of Italians were confident in their preparations, 50 percent of South Koreans, 52 percent of Canadians, 56 percent of Kenyans and 64 percent of Indonesians and 73 percent of Israelis.
Meanwhile, relations between Russia and the West are souring.The US and Russia are embroiled in an ongoing row over accusations of Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election.
The UK accused Russia of ordering the assassination of Sergei Skripal on home soil. Other Western powers and Israel have fired accusations at Moscow being involved with attempts to incapacitate or influence events in their countries.
Russia has repeatedly denied these claims, saying they do not involve themselves in the domestic affairs of other countries. New sanctions on Russia have been introduced, to which they responded in kind.
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