Comenius University student helps deal with a simulated cyber-attack in Brussels
Sofia Šillerová is in her fifth year of law and economics study at the Faculty of Law of Comenius University while also studying at the Faculty of Economics and Finance of the University of Economics in Bratislava. She and five other students from Slovakia participated in simulated negotiations of the Council of the European Union (ConSIMium), which took place on 8 and 9 April, 2024 in Brussels. They all experienced what it was like to act as prime ministers, ambassadors, ministers and experts, and tried out the roles of journalists at the Council of the EU. The simulations focused on digital transition, artificial intelligence and cyber security.
The vice-dean of the Faculty of Law of CU issued a call to students to apply for two places of representatives in the project. The event was held by the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU whose partner in Slovakia was the Slovak Rectors’ Conference. Each university was allowed to nominate a male and a female student, and the Slovak Rectors' Conference selected the finalists.
„I was nominated by Professor Ondrej Blažo. I spent four days here, with intensive negotiations taking two days, from morning to evening. After the day’s work, we discussed the negotiations in our delegation and prepared strategies for the next day,“ Sofia explains.
Comenius University was not the only Slovak university represented at the simulated meeting. University of Economics, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Slovak Medical University, the University of Trnava and the University of Constantine the Philosopher in Nitra also nominated their representatives.
Citizen safety is a priority
At the simulated negotiations, the students were working with actual legislation that was being discussed or had already been approved. Teams consisted of students from different fields like political science, international relations, and law. Sofia was the prime minister (head of the government) of the Slovak Republic. She answered the questions of journalists and presented her statement. „My team included a national expert on the Cyber Security Act (CSA) and a national expert on the Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA), as well as the minister who had approved the Artificial Intelligence Act. Our team also included the ambassador who worked in the main preparatory body of the Council and combined the political position of Slovakia with the position of national experts. As a delegation, we worked together on our priorities and actions, presented national goals and negotiated with leaders of other member states at a summit. Slovakia did not have a clearly defined position, but since both laws were technical in nature, we were open to negotiations. We met with the Slovak representation at the EU, and with national experts who actually negotiated about these regulations. Experts and professionals from their respective fields gave students guidance regarding one of the acts. A student of the Slovak Medical University acted as the expert on cyber security,“ explains Sofia. Because her team included students from different fields, Sofia was able to obtain various solutions to the issue.
As prime minister, Sofia tried defend small and medium enterprises on the internal market, making sure that none of the new European regulations drove them to bankruptcy, but stimulated innovation in sectors such as agriculture and medicine. Artificial intelligence can be used to innovate machines, for example. „It affects every single industry and every one of us, so it is important that we adopt this kind of regulation. The EU wants artificial intelligence to be used to our advantage. We know that students use it, so universities should also regulate it and make sure it is used correctly,“ thinks Sofia.
At the summit, Slovakia presented plans for the regulation of artificial intelligence in order to make it a part of our everyday lives. Slovakia's priority was digital humanism, which would protect citizens from the risks of artificial intelligence - cyberattacks or camera surveillance. Cameras can be used to record individuals and use biometrics to recognize their faces. This can help catch perpetrators of crimes but also poses a risk of abuse of personal data. „One topic that was hotly debated was whether to authorise facial biometrics. Citizens should have a sense of security and know that their data would not be misused or their movements monitored. The act that we approved specifies that artificial intelligence tools like facial biometrics may only be used in exceptional cases - like a potential terrorist attack,“ says Sofia.
The most important thing is to protect EU citizens
The documents adopted will allow the European Commission to adapt the legislation to the developments in the area of artificial intelligence, which is advancing rapidly. The Cyber Security Act will create a single platform where data subjects can report its violations through the use of artificial intelligence, and the system would be supervised by the EU. „This should work like competition law - states can exchange general information and know-how. If, for example, one state detects a cyber threat, it informs other EU states so that they can prepare for the attack.“
During the negotiations, the students proposed an improved definition of artificial intelligence in the approved documents. They also called for a better definition of publicly accessible spaces monitored by cameras. „We wanted the Cyber Security Act to specifically state that its intention was to introduce of a friendly and innovative environment, but that the protection of citizens was also a priority. We also implemented tools which could supervise the testing of new start-ups or innovations. Furthermore, we made sure that the European Union would support research and innovation in the field of artificial intelligence and provide support to universities and research centres. Those will be permitted to use almost all forms of artificial intelligence in order to advance innovation and research,“ explains the future lawyer.
Solutions in case of cyberattacks were developed
During the negotiations, the students, who played the roles of prime ministers, had to deal with a simulated cyberattack in which hackers broke into the financial market. Stock prices began to fall rapidly and the value of the entire financial market fluctuated. Students from each country had to present a solution to this issue within two hours. „First, we discussed whether the situation would be treated as a cyberattack. We received a folder of information about our country, including our priorities, the countries with which we had the most intensive cooperation, the markets we were present on, and what our economy was like. At the summit, each country chose its own solution to the cyberattack. For example, Germany chose not to define the event as a cyberattack to prevent public panic. Slovakia, naturally, wanted to identify it as such, because otherwise we would not be able to fight future such attacks. Restrictions had to be very cautious so that market players would not panic and start selling their shares, which would escalate into an even greater instability of the market.“
Sofia finds her Brussels visit very useful. She met other inspiring international students and they learned from each other, she improved her English and was able to experience the operation of European institutions first-hand. „Each member state has the opportunity to express its opinion, adopt its position, there is no pressure on anyone, and everything is about compromises. We also visited the human resources department, where we received tips on how to write a good CV, a motivation letter, and how to prepare for a personal interview. I improved my presentation skills, because I needed to speak in English and in front of a lot of people,“ concludes Sofia.
Radka Rosenbergová