The issue will be discussed at the committee's meeting on Wednesday, reacting to the cyber attack launched against delfi.lt news portal last week, he says.
"It is a new threat, not all of us understand its scope. Today everything about a person is available online, including information from the Sodra (state-run social insurer), courts, etc. Anyone interested can access the information and cause damage. When there was an attack in Estonia, people could not buy petrol, their lives were disrupted. It is a public interest of the state to protect and defend against such attackers," Paulauskas told journalists at the parliament on Tuesday.
"We will open discussions into the matter at the committee tomorrow, we'll see what type of information we need. I believe it will be in our constant focus, as I have said more threats may emerge in the run-up to the presidency," the head of the National Security and Defense Committee said.
"So far, there is no political will or understanding of how big the threat is," he concluded.
Rasa Juknevičienė of the opposition Conservatives last week urged the committee to open discussions into the matter.
Earlier, Paulauskas issued a statement, saying that Lithuania was susceptible to cyber attacks during the presidency over the European Union (EU) Council in the second half of this year, since no funding was assigned for 24/7 cyber security.
He then said the Lithuanian national Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-LT) would play a key role in cyber security.
"We may face all kinds of attacks. Please remember the hacking of the presidency website on the first day of the Spanish presidency over the community. CERT-LT cannot ensure constant protection against online incidents, as it does not have sufficient human resources for round-the-clock coverage. To correct the situation, the government should establish a few additional positions," the politician told journalists.
Paulauskas recalled that the parliamentary panel last year suggested that the government consider CERT-LT's inability to perform uninterrupted operations 24/7. In his words, the problem was never addressed, although the solution merely required four additional positions.
