BankID highlighted on first Cybersecurity Day

On 23 October, the first Cyber Security Day was held at Science Park Towers in Jönköping with the aim of increasing competence and awareness in the field. BankID was one of the topics in focus during the event, which was organized by among others the School of Engineering (JTH) at Jönköping University (JU).

About 70 participants came to the event from companies, academia and other organizations. One of the speakers was Robert Carlsson, Product Security Manager at BankID.

"Great fun to be here and a fantastic initiative. Gaining greater knowledge of both threats and solutions in cybersecurity is important for the whole of society. We need these kinds of gatherings and collaborations. Otherwise, we stand alone against organized crime," says Robert Carlsson.

He thinks that JTH is well ahead in this area.

"We have reached out to many universities to try to establish a dialogue and cooperation, and we have received several responses from JTH, so it seems promising", says Robert Carlsson.

"You can be safe with BankID"

His message to the participants of the Cybersecurity Day was to cooperate, gain knowledge and understand the threat. To users of BankID, he says they can be safe using the service.

"What you should be aware of is if someone contacts you and asks you to use your BankID to transfer money. Also remember that what you see in a message or on a website when you click on links you have received may be a facade.

Changed their approach

Robert Carlsson says that banks managed to get the message out to their customers that they don't call their customers to ask them to log in to their BankID. The problem was that the fraudsters then changed their approach.

"Instead of calling people, they started sending text messages telling them that, for example, a sofa worth SEK 45,000 was on its way to your home and that you should call them if you had any questions. Then it was not someone who called them to use their BankID but they themselves who called the scammers, and then the banks' message went out the window.

The only way to get scammed

Robert Carlsson's advice in such a stressful situation is to stay calm.

"When you get stressed, you stop thinking. You see a big threat that you want to protect yourself from, but something even worse happens. It's not easy when the adrenaline and cortisol are flowing, but almost the only way to be fooled with BankID is if you are fooled into sending your money, so try not to do that."

He says they have introduced, among other things, ID document checks and facial recognition when issuing BankID, as well as a range of technical security measures under the surface. This type of fraud has also decreased in number.

"Small and medium-sized companies a bit worried"

Johanna Parikka Altenstedt, who works with cybersecurity at Afry, was also one of the key note speakers at the Cybersecurity Day. She mentions that the awareness around cybersecurity is getting better, but that many small and medium-sized companies are a bit worried.

"They usually do not have an internal IT department or security manager, but there are one or two people doing all the tasks. They can start by taking stock of the things they already do, because often they already have what they need on their premises. If they do not, they have to prioritize, because security issues should not drain their resources," says Johanna Parikka Altenstedt.

She found it fun and inspiring to be at the Cyber Security Day and to gain new insights from the other participants.

The Cyber Security Day was organized by Science Park, Jönköping University, Almi, Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and Företagarna.