Brussels, 15/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - ENISA, the European Network and Information Security Agency has stated that the interim conclusions and recommendations from EU member state participants on the subject of the first pan-European cyber security exercise (EUROPE 10250) indicate that “Cyber EUROPE 2010” proved to be a useful stress test for public bodies in Europe. Member states are very eager to continue carrying out exercises at national and pan-European levels. They have also agreed on the importance of involving the private sector in other exercises and sharing the lessons learnt with other national and international actors involved in similar exercises. The director of ENISA, Udo Helmbrecht, declared that the exercise, “fully met its objectives to test Europe's readiness to face online threats to essential critical infrastructure used by citizens, governments and businesses. We will work closely with member states to identify and implement the lessons learnt from this exercise”.
ENISA drew up a balance sheet of the exercise during a conference in Berlin on 10 November. ENISA conclusions and recommendations state that: 1) the exercise fully met its objectives. The scenario was well balanced between technical and communication requirements. 2) Exchanging “lessons-learnt” with other (national or international) exercises would be useful. 3) The private sector should be part of the next pan-European exercise. 4) There is a lack of pan-European preparedness measures to test. This reflects the fact that many member states are still refining their national approaches. 5) The exercise was only the first step towards building trust at pan-European level. More co-operation and information exchange is needed. 6) Incident handling in member states varies a lot due to the different roles, responsibilities and bodies involved in the process. Member states had difficulties in fully grasping how incidents are managed in other member states. 7) There is no need for creating a new pan-European directory of contacts. The existing ones are sufficient but need to be updated and completed regularly. 8) ENISA's role in organising and managing future exercises is highly recommended by member states. 9) Member states support future pan-European exercises, but more time should be allocated to plan and execute the exercise.
These interim findings will be followed by a thorough analysis of the status reports. Assessments will also be carried out at national level and subsequently included in the overall public reports on the exercise, which will be published across the European Union. The complete report is expected to be available at the beginning of 2011. (I.L./transl.fl)