“Together for your Digital Security”

This Tuesday in Madrid, the Guardia Civil and Telefónica presented the ‘Together for your Digital Security’ campaign. A campaign in which the two institutions aim to raise awareness among citizens of the importance of preventing cybercrime.

The general director of the Guardia Civil, Leonardo Marcos, presided over the campaign presentation event together with the president of Telefónica Spain, Emilio Gayo.

Leonardo Marcos has pointed out that we are facing a digital revolution of which we should not be afraid. It opens up a huge range of opportunities for progress. But, at the same time, it leads us to an ecosystem full of risks in cyberspace for which we must put containment dams. As an example of the current situation, he has stated that the total number of computer crimes in our country was 40,000 in 2012. Today, this figure is ten times higher. And, specifically, and if we stick only to the scope of action of the Guardia Civil, cybercrime increased in 2023 by 42.3% compared to 2022, an increase produced, above all, by the upward trend in computer scams, which almost represent 90% of this criminal modality.

And one last relevant fact to perceive the dimension of the challenge posed by Internet crime: of the total criminal activity that occurs, one in five crimes already takes place in cyberspace.

To fight against this, the general director has outlined the measures that the Guardia Civil has implemented since the appearance of the growing threat posed by cybercrime, such as the creation of the Cybersecurity Coordination Unit (UCCIBER), the specialised work of the Teams @ in all commands in Spain, the Cybercrime Department of the Central Operational Unit (UCO) or the cyberterrorism unit.

The general director has stressed the importance of prevention through awareness, through campaigns such as the one presented. It is also necessary to know that the risks of being victims of computer crimes are not exclusive to any group or entity. It affects public administrations, citizens of all profiles. It’s not just older people who are targets. Experience shows that young people, who spend more time online, are clearly targets of criminals’ actions.

The campaign has a total of 13 videos, which will be shown every 15 days, aimed at raising awareness among citizens about the importance of cybersecurity. These videos can be seen on the screens of the ADIF, ALSA, AVANZA, Federation of Spanish Cinemas (FECE) and RENFE services, and also on the social networks of the Guardia Civil and Telefónica.

In addition, for the campaign, we have had the collaboration of the athletes Chema Martínez, Fonsi Nieto, Pedro Delgado, the actor Óscar Higares and the ethical hacker, Yaiza Rubio.

The objectives of the campaign are to prevent citizens from clicking on suspicious links, sharing personal data on the Internet, accepting strangers on social networks or using double authentication factors such as strong and secure passwords.