User identifiers for financial transactions are widely used for personal identification numbers (PINs). PIN numbers are deposited at ATMs, card payments at POS terminals and electronic banking services. Bank card (ATM) credit card fraud has dramatically increased over the last decade. When analyzing the most common attacks and the reasons for successful frauds, it is clear that the main problem is PIN authentication, which itself does not produce any security features (except for the use of stars). This means that security is based solely on user behaviour. Research has focused on areas where personal protection and security is most failing, and that’s where the user is carrying a PIN along with a credit card, whether he or she changed the PIN on the payment card, and whether the PIN does not specify the date or year of his birth.
With regard to its territorial size, economy and political power; Germany represents one of the most sustainable, competitive and economically developed Member States of the European Union. However, development of the knowledge-based economy on one hand and negative demographic trends on the other hand will force Germany to cover the growing demand for high-skilled labour force from non-EU countries in the coming years to keep this position. The paper analyses competitiveness within the framework of security and sustainability of the Federal Republic of Germany concerning labour migration from the third countries. Main research question of this article is formulated as follows: How can migration from the third countries influence economic development and competitiveness of Germany in terms of state’s demographic problems? With regard to the above, we try to verify our hypothesis claiming that compensation of the domestic workforce through regulated migration flows – necessary because of declining and aging population and skill disharmony in Germany – is only a short-time solution of the current situation on the German labour market, but it is not sustainable in the long run.
In the last few decades, the understanding of security has been changing. New areas emerged which may influence security facets, which were not urgent earlier. Now those facets can endanger individual persons or even states. Breaches of cyber security, separate attacks or intense cyber wars are becoming more usual than conventional wars in the physical space; violations of cyber security may cause great damage, ruin businesses or even temporarily paralyze full-fledged functioning of individual states or regions. Many countries of the world, realizing that such a threat is real, adopted Cyber Security Strategies; for some countries, this is not the first version of such a strategy. This article examines the place of Cyber Security Strategies in the system of state documents, the nature and importance of such strategies as well as whether they are binding on individuals and institutions. The article explores in more detail the principles of ensuring cyber security provided for in such strategies, i.e. the principles identified by the states, as important for ensuring cyber security. It is discussed why these principles are so different in the strategies of individual states.
Increase of energy efficiency remains as one of the major strategic objectives in Lithuania. Effective use of existing energy saving potential increases energy security and reduces emissions of greenhouse gas and other pollutants. In order to meet the growing energy demand and to reduce the negative impact of the energy sector on environment, increase of the role of renewable energy sources in the country’s primary energy balance, as well as larger deployment of energy-efficient and smart technologies in all areas, including military structures, are required. When analysing energy security and energy efficiency, as the two interrelated aspects of the Lithuanian energy policy, assessment of the global energy trends in the world, the EU and neighbouring countries, expected developments in the modern technologies, as well as global aspirations to neutralize the threat of climate change was performed. The paper provides an overview of energy consumption trends in the European Union and Lithuania, energy policy in the NATO alliance, as well the current status of energy consumption in the Lithuanian National Defence System.
The aim of the article is to present and examine a unique role of social media in correlation with contemporary secure and sustainable development path by observing social and political processes, which in several instances led to a violent conflicts and crisis. Fundamental task of the article as well as its research goal is to give an answer to two questions – does the social media can be used to trigger revolutions and how military powerful entities as NATO and US are prepared to utilize the social media as a part of military efforts. First part of the article is focused on scientific approaches towards secure and sustainable development, followed by NATO’s and US military doctrinal approach to the use of the social media. After review of interrelationships between security and sustainable development, that part of the article covers such documents as NATO Military Concept for NATO Strategic Communication (2010), NATO Strasbourg-Khel Summit Declaration (2009), NATO Strategic Communication Policy (2009), US Capstone Concept for Joint Operations (2009), US Commander’s Handbook for Strategic Communication and Communication Strategy (2010) and revised US Capstone Concept for Joint (2012). The second part of the article is focused mainly on presentation of the usage of the social media in selected conflicts which took place in Lebanon, Kuwait, Kenya, Iran, Egypt, Tunisia, Nigeria and another accord in long-lasting war between Israel and Hamas (so called operation Pillars of Defense). The article is concluded with final remarks addressing role of social media in processes of secure sustainable development of considered countries.
This article demonstrates how Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan change regional security dynamic in South Asia. The formation of regions, intensification and importance of regional power is interesting for different kind of scientists, including political analysts, due to the changing values of national nations in a global world and due to the power separation between members of international system. Regional nations, which are analyzed, are one of the most rapidly growing markets, what is more, a lot of important changes in politics, which give the world a tumble of particular tendencies, happens in these countries. All things considered, it is important to get information about processes which happens in Southern Asia, especially, in India which is a regional power. The article analyzes how regional security system in South Asia. Analysis of regional security dynamic in India-Pakistan conflict demonstrates how organization serves the purpose of enhancing the efficiency of transactions among states, but the ambiguity in them also functions as a tool to manage distribution of power.
Global economic development and continuous growth of the world population are the major factors which cause growth of energy consumption and increasing volumes of greenhouse gas emissions. Attempts to achieve sustainable energy development are still not enough successful. Scientific community and international organizations are concerned with consequences of global warming: increasing temperature in various regions of the planet, significant and harmful effects on health and environment, growing number of extreme storm events and large wildfires, rising sea levels, changes in landscapes. Increasing efforts of governments and politicians should be directed to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels combustion by increasing energy efficiency and by deployment of renewable energy sources. The paper focuses on efforts of world community directed to sustainable global energy development, implementation of new energy policies and provides an overview of energy consumption trends in the world by 2035.
The United States of America and the United Kingdom with the assistance of other NATO and non-NATO states initiated an international counter terrorism campaign the War on Terror (also known as the Global War on Terror (GWOT)). However, after more than ten years the War on Terror is still in the active stage. The pivotal issue regarding counter-terrorism actions in Afghanistan, considering how much money and energy spent on them, is whether such actions are effective or not. Dynamic system simulation approach was used to investigate interactions between counter-terrorism strategies used in Afghanistan (in the context of coalition strength) and the effectiveness of these strategies (in the context of terrorist strength). Data form different sources over a ten-year-period was used for analysis (2000–2010). It was found dynamic relation between recruitment rate of terrorist and coalition manpower that depends on time adjustments. However, further research is needed to get more precise results in finding causal loops in counter-terrorism system, thus this study should be evaluated only as a framework in further similar researches.
Presented paper suggests an instrumental approach to soft security and aims to reveal capacity of soft security instruments in terms of contribution to both security and sustainable development in the region which is addressed by Eastern Dimension of European Neighbourhood Policy and which includes Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Russian Federation (which is neither part of EaP nor among 16 EU partners addressed by the European Neighbourhood Policy) is also included in the overview as an important factor of influence in respect of regional security and relations between EaP states and EU. Referring to the main ideas of researchers and policy makers using different approaches to soft security as a phenomenon, the authors of the paper define soft security instruments as purposely organised social practices which rely mainly on sharing, congruence and development of values and competences of initiators and participants of security governance. Focus on the effectiveness of sharing, congruence and development of values and competences of initiators and participants of the EU policies and related joint projects as well as relevant combinations of soft instruments with economic and normative hard means is seen as a possibility to gradually increase level of regional security and transfer elements leading to sustainable development in this region.