It is critical to continue cyber threat search operations to promptly identify cyber operations in Latvia's infrastructure - Rinkevics

RIGA - It is critical to continue and expand cyber threat search operations to promptly identify and eliminate cyber operations in Latvia's infrastructure, President Edgars Rinkevics stressed during a visit to IT security incident response institution Cert.lv on Monday.

During the visit, the president was introduced to the operational environment of CERT.LV, the institution's current activities, and ongoing developments and challenges in cyberspace, as Rinkevics' advisor Martins Dregeris informed LETA.

Rinkevics met with Cert.lv head Baiba Kaskina and director of the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Latvia, Inara Opmane. He visited the Cert.lv Operations Center and the industrial control equipment laboratory.

During the visit, the president recognized Cert.lv and its partner stakeholders for their effective work in identifying cyber threats, acquiring advanced threat information, and responding appropriately. He thanked all of Latvia's allies, including the United States and Canada, for their valuable support in strengthening cyber resilience across the European Union and NATO.

Dregeris points out that defending Latvia's cyberspace has become particularly important in the context of Russia’s hybrid threats and full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The mission of Cert.lv is to ensure that Latvia is not a vulnerable target for cyber-attackers.

Cert.lv is a unit of the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Latvia. It operates under the authority of the Defense Ministry following the regulations of the Information Technology Security Law. Cert.lv's main tasks include maintaining and updating information on IT security threats, providing support to public institutions in the field of IT security, and assisting any natural or legal person in preventing IT security incidents if the incident involves a Latvian IP address or .lv domain and organizing information and educational events in the field.