Crnjanski: Serbia leads the Balkans in digital infrastructure development

Digital expert and Netokracija editor-in-chief Marko Crnjanski told Kosovo Online that Serbia leads the Balkans in the development of digital infrastructure and administration, but stressed the importance of educating people so they can recognize the dangers posed by hacker attacks and other online threats.

Crnjanski said that, following the attack on Yandex, he tested the company's application operating in Serbia and noticed some minor disruptions, but that it was soon working normally again.

“One of the main reasons for this is that the company had a good so-called backup system, meaning that its data centers had stored data that later enabled the application itself to continue functioning. When we talk about attacks, regardless of their nature, it is important for a data center to be able to recover quickly and have data stored for emergencies. As for the Western Balkans and Serbia, I am not entirely sure how many resources and qualified personnel are available here to safeguard that data,” Crnjanski said.

He mentioned the data center in Kragujevac, noting that it is extensively equipped and stores more than three million records.

“Any attack on a data storage center is also dangerous for citizens, but I repeat, having backup data is the most important thing in such cases, so that systems can continue operating normally afterwards,” Crnjanski said.

The digital expert pointed out that large amounts of data are stored on servers and that infrastructure in the Balkans is highly developed.

“Serbia is one of the leading countries in the Balkans, particularly when it comes to e-government and other public administration systems. Around 2.5 million people use the e-government system. Serbia is in the lead, followed by Albania and Montenegro. We remember the well-known hacker attack on the Electric Power Industry of Serbia in 2023, when the system completely collapsed. The attack came through email and that was how it infiltrated the EPS system. The most important thing is to have trained employees in these institutions who know how to defend against attacks and repel them,” he said.

Crnjanski explained that phishing attacks are the most common, as they convincingly imitate content that users, or employees in administrative services, may click on because they believe it to be genuine.

“So-called phishing attacks are so sophisticated that they convincingly imitate certain forms of communication, making them so persuasive that people believe they are dealing with something that might interest them. Once they click on a link, hackers gain access to their data. Hackers use phishing attacks against major institutions to obtain huge amounts of citizens' personal data, which can later be misused in various ways. For example, someone could register a company somewhere in Indonesia in your name or gain access to your bank account. Attacks can also be carried out through applications such as WhatsApp or other messaging services,” Crnjanski explained.

Our interviewee noted that around 90 percent of people in Serbia have access to the internet, while younger people are at the forefront when it comes to digital literacy.

“Older citizens are more hesitant and have little trust in digital systems. We are not talking only about the internet, but also about ATMs. There is a lack of trust in things that are not tangible, so they may seem virtual and inaccessible, or simply complicated. Younger and middle-aged generations make greater use of the benefits of e-government and online shopping, and this picture is unlikely to change. We are a market with only partial digital literacy when it comes to using digital systems,” Crnjanski concluded.