Minister for Societal Security and Emergency Management says to Politiken that outdated IT systems need to be replaced.

According to Minister for Societal Security and Emergency Management Lisbeth Bech-Nielsen (SF), some of Denmark's digital infrastructure runs on "old systems in a sea of critical areas". (Photo: © Sebastian Elias Uth, Ritzau Scanpix)

By Ritzau – 33 minutes ago

Denmark's digital vulnerability is so extensive that a recovery plan is needed.

That is what Minister for Societal Security and Emergency Management Lisbeth Bech-Nielsen (SF) says in an interview with Politiken.

Specifically, she wants to replace several outdated IT systems, among other things.

The announcement comes shortly after a hacker gained access to names, addresses and CPR numbers of approximately 8.8 million people, and after the Danish Land Registry (Tinglysningen) and the main contractor on the Fehmarn Belt link were digitally attacked.

According to the minister, some of Denmark's digital infrastructure runs on "old systems in a sea of critical areas".

She cannot be more specific, "because otherwise that could also be a security problem".

"You should think of it as a house. Without ongoing maintenance, you end up in a situation where it is not just the windows that need replacing, but in the worst case the foundation itself begins to crumble," Lisbeth Bech-Nielsen tells Politiken.

Read also: Unauthorized individuals have had access to 8.8 million CPR numbers

Repeated warnings about the state's IT emergency preparedness

The problems with the state's IT emergency preparedness are not new, however. The National Audit Office has previously examined whether authorities are able to maintain critical societal functions during major IT breakdowns, data loss and other serious incidents.

In a report from November 2022, the National Audit Office concluded that the examined authorities had not ensured satisfactory IT emergency preparedness for any of the 13 selected critical societal IT systems.

The following year, the National Audit Office followed up with a new examination of 12 other selected systems.

Here, emergency preparedness was unsatisfactory for seven systems. For other systems, preparedness was largely satisfactory, but with certain deficiencies.

On the basis of the 2023 examination, the State Auditors criticised that satisfactory IT emergency preparedness had not been ensured for seven of the 12 systems.

According to the National Audit Office, deficient emergency preparedness plans can mean that the state cannot maintain critical societal tasks, or that tasks become significantly disrupted if major IT breakdowns or data loss occur.

The State Auditors also highlighted hacker attacks and physical damage as possible incidents that could have serious consequences.

RITZAU

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