International and Domestic Challenges to Comprehensive National Cybersecurity: A Case Study of the Czech Republic

While many countries and companies have fallen victim to cyber attacks over the past few years, including American companies such as Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook, Czech websites remained relatively safe until March 2013, when they were interrupted by a series of cyber attacks. Even though the origin of the attacks remains debatable, this case study demonstrates the importance of cooperation between nations in the nascent phase of the internet development and their more powerful allies. Domestic challenges that nations face in addressing cybersecurity in an effective and comprehensive manner include ambiguous legislation, recalcitrant officials, and a lack of both fiscal and human capital. To address these challenges, nations should cooperate with their more capable allies, such as the EU and NATO, create better cyber protective measures, train and hire qualified specialists in the public sector, and intensify private-public partnership. Until an international agenda on cyberspace is set, these nations with limited resources should cooperate with developed nations lest they risk more severe attacks in the future