Skr. 2016/17:213 and deepening the work to analyse vulnerabilities, deficiencies and needs linked to Sweden’s cyber security in order to support and increase awareness of long-term cyber security efforts at all levels of society. In the same way as the functioning of society is dependent on IT systems and IT services, individuals are also reliant on such systems for managing more and more parts of their everyday lives. These involve payments, education, contacts with authorities and municipalities, etc. Today, almost everyone in Sweden has access to high-capacity broadband both at work and at home. The digital strategy (N2017/03643/D) emphasises that the goal is for people, companies and organisations to have trust and confidence in the use of digital services. Individuals always have a responsibility of their own for protecting their information and their connected devices, but it is also important that society addresses threats and risks that are specifically directed against individuals in their use of IT systems and digital services. There are, at present, various initiatives for the cyber security of individuals, for example, by the Internet Foundation in Sweden, MSB, the Swedish Police Authority and other stakeholders. These initiatives are important and need to continue being developed. The Government will work to   ensure that relevant authorities develop the work to implement and support the mapping and investigation of vulnerabilities and appropriate security measures in society, increase people’s knowledge of vulnerabilities and appropriate security measures that everyone can take to protect themselves. Higher education, research and development Objective: Higher education, research and development of high quality are to be conducted in the areas of cyber security and of IT and telecom security in Sweden. Development of IT and telecom is a natural step in the increasingly globalised infrastructure that is being built up. This entails many opportunities, but also demands an increase in research on digital security to ensure that cyberspace remains open, free and secure. Today, research on cyber security is conducted to varying degrees at several Swedish higher education institutions. Applied research on cyber security is conducted at institutions including the Swedish Defence Research Agency, the Swedish Defence University and the Swedish Institute of Computer Sciences (RISE SICS). Efforts to safeguard society’s cyber security need to be conducted in a long-term and effective manner, and serve the interests of fundamental societal values, such as the protection of personal privacy. This presupposes that these efforts are based on a knowledge base that is both deep and broad with regard to needs, risks, vulnerabilities, threats and opportunities. The need for skilled personnel in the area of cyber security is also great. A lack of cutting-edge expertise affects both the private and public sectors. It should thus be in the interest of all relevant stakeholders to find long-term solutions to satisfy the increasing needs for skilled labour. The area of cyber security brings to the fore many complex research questions that often require a multidisciplinary approach. Research in fields such as data encryption is of an advanced technical nature, while research focusing on the 22