Information and security

Objective and tasks
Information security and data protection
Utilisation of information
Transport safety
Transport automation

1. Objective and tasks

The Ministry aims to

increase the availability of information and open data and generate new business operations
promote the utilisation of automation and robotics
ensure that services and networks are safe for the users

The key duties of the Ministry

improve access to data
provide opportunities for data-based businesses by means of regulation
draft legislation concerning data resources and the use of information and
matters related to privacy protection and the security and confidentiality of transport and communications services

Open data enables new services

As digital systems develop, the collection of data is converting more and more into industrial activity. Convenient access to information will be essential though, for creating new services.

Open data and continuously developing mass data analysis methods provide substantial opportunities for transport and communications services, business operations and the entire society.

The aim of the Ministry and the administrative branch is to build up users' trust in digital services and business models. New transport and communications services and their safe use call for high-quality information security throughout the delivery chain.

2. Information security and data protection

An increasing number of transport services and nearly all communication services are connected to the information and communications infrastructure. The Ministry of Transport and Communications is responsible for legislation and strategy development concerning information security in communications networks and services.

The mission is to ensure and promote the confidence of the general public, businesses and government in the security and privacy protection of services provided in the information society. The trust is based on aspects such as user-friendliness, adequate privacy protection and content authenticity.

Finnish Transport and Communications Agency acts as the national authority for information security.

Data protection in electronic communications is monitored by the Transport and Communications Agency and the Data Protection Ombudsman. The responsibility for preliminary criminal investigation always rests with the Police.

The Ministry is active in the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA). The Agency assists Member States and EU institutions in issues related to information security. The aim of the Agency is to promote a well-functioning internal market within the EU.

3. Utilisation of data and information

The huge amount of data on the Internet is constantly increasing, for example on the use of digital services and a variety of devices and equipment.

Digitalisation is not only about developing different kinds of technological applications or new services but also about using them in a large scale.

Open data and continuously improving ways to use mass data provide substantial opportunities for business operations and the whole society. The availability of public information is important for innovations, the development of services, and transparency of society.

Information resources produced using public funding will be opened up for public and corporate access.

The aim is that publicly funded data material be available to people, businesses and other organisations. Companies also have significant data resources. If those resources were shared, it would be possible to further enhance the development of applications and services based on data resources.

One of the measures of the Government key project, Building a growth environment for digital business operations, is more efficient utilisation of big data. The project focuses on promoting digitalisation in the business sector.

4. Transport safety

The Ministry of Transport and Communications is responsible for drafting legislation on transport safety.

The aim is a continuous improvement of road safety so that the number of road fatalities has been halved and the number of serious injuries cut by one fourth by the year 2020. The figures from 2010 are used as the reference.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications co-operates with other ministries in combating drink driving and improving traffic control.

Road safety work utilises information and communications technologies in, for example, in-vehicle applications, electronic traffic management and road condition information.

The key players in the field of road safety within the Ministry's administrative branch are the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, and Liikenneturva (Finnish Road Safety Council).

Railway, aviation and maritime safety

The Transport and Communications Agency is responsible for the supervision of rail safety and interoperability of the railway system. The aim is that railway transport is safe for people and the environment.

The Transport and Communications Agency is also responsible for flight safety matters. Along with joint European guidelines, Finland aims to continuously reduce the number of aircraft accidents despite changes in air traffic volume and other factors affecting flight safety. For sport aviation, the goal is to maintain the existing high level of safety.

This is also the objective in the maritime transport sector. An important aspect of the work is the safety culture.

The Ministry's administrative branch in shipping is comprised of the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (maritime safety, boating), the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency (transport system, fairways).

In maritime transport, international cooperation and agreements play an important role too. The Vessel Traffic Management and Information Service (VTMIS) is used for traffic plying the international sea area of the Gulf of Finland. In the VTMIS system, Finland, Russia and Estonia together monitor shipping in the Gulf of Finland and the vessels themselves have a reporting obligation.

5. Transport automation

The aim in transport policy is partial automation, which offers significant possibilities for improving the safety, efficiency and sustainability of traffic and transportation.

The Ministry also promotes business operations based on transport automation by providing support for automation experiments.

Intelligent automation, and its increase, or automatisation, refer to modern robotics where a device or a system is capable of increasingly autonomous action, perception, learning and decision-making through artificial intelligence, sensors and the Internet of Things combined with software.

Transport automatisation is based on the development of communications and vehicle technologies. Information also plays a key role. Transport information together with the transport and communications infrastructure form a platform for transport automatisation.