- Funding Programme
- Year
- 2023
Information security policy, artificial intelligence and business intelligence in Croatian Customs
The European Commission provided technical support to the Croatian Ministry of Finance, Customs Administration [Croatian Customs] in (a) strengthening its information security policy and (b) exploring and preparing for artificial intelligence and business intelligence.
Context
The information security policy of Croatian Customs was outdated and needed a revision in accordance with the latest standards. Furthermore, Croatian Customs was aware it needed to address its data governance challenges that restrict the further use of new technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) and business intelligence (BI) in particular.
The project aligned with the previous Commission priorities ‘Protecting our European way of life’ (Customs Union) and ‘A Europe fit for the digital age’ (data, AI, cybersecurity). The technical support serves the implementation of EU legislation on the Customs Union, especially given the interconnected and Union-wide interoperable IT systems in the field of customs.
Support Delivered
At the end of the 17-month project, the beneficiary authority has at its disposal:
- a technical report on information security as well as a revised information security policy and five newly created additional documents related to information security policy;
- analytical reports concerning business intelligence and artificial intelligence, along with detailed use cases;
- data governance framework, strategy and implementation plan;
training material on information security, business intelligence, artificial intelligence, and data governance.
Results achieved
The technical support aided Croatian Customs in strengthening its information security policy, achieving alignment with the regulatory requirements and international standards, namely ISO/IEC 27001:2022.
Secondly, the project facilitated the exploration and preparation for the integration of AI and BI, positioning these modern data-intensive technologies at the forefront of Croatian Customs operations, while developing in detail selected 4 out of 11 suggested AI and BI use cases. The prepared implementation plans will leverage BI and AI to optimize its functions and service delivery.
A third key project workstream focused on refining the overall approach to data governance, ensuring robust management and utilisation of data across the administration.
Overall, 40 workshops were held with Croatian Customs, and training was provided to more than 500 employees. This achieved a higher sense of awareness and a stronger capacity on the project’s different subject matters.
As such, the project enables Croatian Customs to take the next steps in enhancing its information security, in improving its capabilities regarding data governance, artificial intelligence and business intelligence, and in facilitating the roll-out of new technologies.
Over the longer-term, the technical support will contribute towards a higher level of network- and information security, a higher reliability of services, and a more data-driven public administration that uses artificial intelligence and business intelligence.
More about the project
You can read the documents related to the project here: