Turkey has been the target of cyberattacks for almost two weeks, which have brought down online systems and caused certain banks to temporarily shut down their websites, and as a result, some citizens have panicked. In an exclusive interview with Daily Sabah, Çetin Kaya Koç, a professor of cryptology from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and an expert in cyberphysical security, said the recent attacks should not worry the public, adding that Turkey still needs to advance its cyberdefense system.Stressing that bureaucrats, businessmen and employees should be wary of the mobile apps they use, Koç said that such apps enable hackers to have remote access. "I have been using the Internet for over 32 years and I have never been hacked," he added. Koç also weighed in on the debate over whether Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) should stay as the sole institution to host Turkey's only domain name system (DNS) server.Daily Sabah: Internet speed slowed down recently in Turkey and people have experienced problems, apparently from an intense cyberattack. Can you please clarify the recent situation?Çetin Kaya Koç: To my knowledge, 10 percent of the whole system has been affected. However, the effect was not on critical infrastructure, but on non-critical infrastructure.D.S.: We are so dependent on the Internet that our transactions, businesses and even daily lives come to a halt when such cyberattacks occur. How will we feel secure?Koç: It is a complex problem that has various intertwined components. What's important is to what extent one's life is affected by such attacks. Most attacks do not affect our lives, or only slightly affect them. The main danger is attacks against satellites, namely cyberphysical attacks. Governments will not place great emphasis on this problem until the danger grows to this point. I think, too, that Turkey should not be that worried. However, regular preparations are necessary and we should set up our own systematic defense system. I've been wondering for a long time why the DNS of a country like Turkey is still in the hands of a university.ODTÜ issued a statement on the matter that said the recent attacks have nothing to do with it being the institution that hosts Turkey's sole DNS server.No, it is not true. It should not be in the hands of ODTÜ because people can easily access it. I don't think it should be hosted in only one place, but should be in various places, and it should be funded by the state. In the U.S., for example, DNS servers are not housed at universities. I am not saying that it should be taken out of ODTÜ; there should be around 50 servers, and one of them can be at ODTÜ.Is it expensive to have advanced DNS infrastructure?No, definitely not. We are talking about a sum of $50,000 to $100,000 for each system. If one were to set up 10 systems, it would be around $1 million, which is a relatively small amount.Which countries provide funds to prevent such attacks?The U.S., Germany and France invest a lot to prevent and fight off these kinds of attacks.You said ongoing attacks on Turkey are not very worrying. What is the main aim of the attacks then?The goal is to maul Turkey as much as possible.Is Turkey in a very desperate spot in terms of cybersecurity?No, it is not. There are countries that are much worse than Turkey in this regard.