News

The interest of Czechs in buying flights continues to rise after a crisis in spring, with bookings now at a fifth of last year’s numbers. However, the sales continue to be influenced by the constantly evolving epidemiological situation and Czech are opting more for flights within Europe, which have a lower price, according to a survey among travel agencies conducted by the Czech News Agency.

According to the survey, Czechs prefer to wait to the last moment, following the epidemiological situation, before they make a purchase and prefer to buy one-way flights. Many are also still waiting for refunds after most flights were cancelled during the height of the pandemic. Airlines expect this trend to continue for several more months.

The Czech Republic’s National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NCISA) has issued a report in which it says that one of the country’s strategic state institutions was a target of cyber espionage in 2019. The source of the espionage was likely the group Sofacy associated with Russia’s GRU military intelligence service, according to the document which Czech Radio’s flagship station Radiožurnál has obtained.

Another group, which the NCISA says was active in cyberspace, was Winnti, associated with the People’s Republic of China. Winnti hackers attacked German companies such as Bayer, Siemens, BASF and Henkel in the past year, but no attacks were registered in the Czech Republic. NCISA believes the group is focused on cyberespionage focusing on industry, state organs and the media, and could conduct similar attacks on the Czech Republic in the future.

The NCISA received reports of 217 successful cyberattacks last year, 50 more than in 2018. The attacks have also been more sophisticated than in the past. In more than half of the cases the attackers get into the system through spam, or fake emails. The NCISA gathered the data via a survey it sent to 125 state institutions and businesses. The most common attackers were cybercriminals, followed by foreign state actors.

The Municipal Court in Prague has adjourned negotiations on the use of the Trdlo trademark, the business daily Hospodářské noviny reports.

The name “Trdlo” is being used by several vendors selling a form of coal-roasted, rolled cinnamon bun known as the “trdelník”. Although marketed, in particular to tourists, as a traditional old Czech pastry, in fact it was inspired by a Carpathian snack only recently.

Trdlo trademark owner Petr Boček is suing the companies DMJ and Staropražské tradiční trdlo, which, he claims, have been abusing the name for several years. Boček registered the “trdlo for pastry” in 2004.

Hospodářské noviny reports that his competitors registered their products only after Boček filed a lawsuit. In addition, the companies registered only paper napkins under the name Trdlo, not the pastry itself.

Miloš Říha Sr., the former Czech national hockey team coach, has died in hospital at the age of 61, his son and namesake told the iSport.cz website. He had led the Czech national team over the past two seasons.

Říha had been at the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine (IKEM) in Prague since mid-August, after being transferred from a hospital in Slovakia, where the team was training for a Euro Hockey Challenge match.