Moreover, in 2022 and 2023, the state institutions and numerous public schools in the country were under cyber-attacks for a longer period of time. As an example, on 21 February 2023, more than 30 locations in the capital Skopje and one in the city of Prilep were evacuated due to the false bomb threats. The threats were aiming towards a broad spectre of locations, in­cluding public schools, public institutions, TV stations, courts, malls, mu­seums, hotels, but also the office of the President of the Republic of North Macedonia. These threats were identified as a form of a hybrid warfare and the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia requested NATO sup­port in tackling these types of attacks. 86 On 8 February 2023, a massive cyber-attack hit the Fund for Health Insur­ance, causing collapse of the system, meaning the people in the country could not take their prescribed medication, while the doctors and all the personnel in the health institutions could not have their salary. This attack had huge impact on the state health system, raising the awareness of the cyber security in the critical infrastructure, such as the health protection. IT experts were working on fixing the problem and renewing the system – which was finally restored twelve days later. This attack was also charac­terised as being part of the hybrid warfare that was going on in the region, posing great threat to the national security. 87 Factors Contributing to the Cyber Security in the Republic of North Macedonia There are several factors that make the Republic of North Macedonia vul­nerable to cyber-attacks. Primarily, the digital infrastructure of the country is not well developed. Although, the digital infrastructure in the country is spreading, it is still underdeveloped, especially in comparison to the Euro­pean countries. Numerous public institutions and private organisations lack the basic protection for cyber security, such as security protocols, encryption and multi-factor authentication. Moreover, there is little awareness among the citizens and the employees in the public administration about their and their institution cyber security. The human factor is very often the weak link in building the cyber defence. Furthermore, the Republic of North Mac­edonia is faced with numerous cyber security challenges due to the limited 86 See more in DW in Macedonian edition: https://www.dw.com/mk/hibridni-zakani-cadot-od-laznite-bombi-ja-zagrozu­va-bezbednosta/a-63573945. 87 See more on the web page of Telma TV: https://telma.com.mk/2023/02/16/it-sistemot-na-fondot-za-zdravstvo-e-osvoen­od-hakeri-koi-baraat-otkup-potvrdi-i-kovachevski/ Chapter 3 – Case Study: The Republic Of North Macedonia 145