Minister of Public Administration Marash Dukaj, speaking at a panel on digital transformation and strategic communication within the 2BS Forum, said that Montenegro has achieved great results in terms of digital transformation.
“We are not close to our goals yet, but I can say we have made enormous progress in a short period. As the Ministry of Public Administration and the Government, we have taken huge steps, starting from the basics to awards we have received from the most relevant European institutions,” Dukaj stated.
Speaking about the cyberattack in 2023 and how much more resilient we are today in protecting against cyber threats, Dukaj said no country is 100 percent secure.
“As a country, we have made serious progress, more in the period this government has been in office than in the past ten years. We did not have 24/7 protection before, but now we do. We established the Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT), completed the Information Security Law, which is a prerequisite for closing Chapter 10,” Dukaj reminded.
He said they are still not satisfied, but many EU countries have lower rates of digitalization growth.
“That depends not only on one institution but also on citizens and all other institutions and their cooperation,” Dukaj added.
When asked about the Information Technology Law, Dukaj said digitalization is a process that must continue.
“It must also be accompanied by cybersecurity. Regarding the law, it is one of the most modern laws aligned with European directives, and this law is key for critical infrastructure, which is the foundation of every state. Today, as a country, we do not have protection of critical infrastructure because we have not yet established the Agency for Cybersecurity,” Dukaj emphasized and called for its urgent formation as a prerequisite for further progress in European integration.
Asked why it has not been established yet, Dukaj said that question is not for him.
“Everything that depended on the Ministry of Public Administration, we have done in record time. There are many other reasons for this, which are off the record,” Dukaj noted.
Speaking about the importance of allocating five percent for NATO defense, Dukaj said it is a very significant step.
“It is very important, and we must understand that this NATO demand is not an increase for them, but for us. I am glad that cybersecurity is part of this process for the first time. We clearly defined it through the Information Security Law. We must follow trends, which is not easy. We are talking about AI, and not going back to processes that some countries finished long ago. If we do not keep up with these trends, we will have huge problems,” Dukaj said.
He reminded that the war in Ukraine began with cyberattacks.
“New wars begin this way, and that is the biggest problem because cyber wars know no borders, and we must unite, first as a region and then as the EU, to contribute to collective protection against cyberattacks,” Dukaj concluded.