Brussels, 31/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 7 February the European Commission will present a European strategy on cybersecurity, along with a proposal for a directive, which aims to build a trustworthy and secure digital environment across the whole of the European Union. The strategy will be a joint initiative of Commissioner for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes, Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström and High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton. “As more people come to rely on the internet, they rely on it to be secure. And as the online world becomes a part of everything we do, securing that world is essential to ensuring a society that remains secure, prosperous and free”, said Kroes, who believes that “the cost of inaction is greater for businesses and governments than the cost of taking action”.
The European cybersecurity strategy provides for a package of initiatives to stimulate the competitiveness of the European ICT industry and stimulate user demand to provide security functionalities in ICT products and services. The initiatives aim more specifically to: (1) ensure a high level of cyber resilience by increasing capabilities, preparedness, cooperation, information exchange and awareness at the national and EU level; (2) drastically reduce cybercrime by strengthening the level of expertise of the specialists in charge of tracking down cybercrime; (3) develop an EU cyber-defence policy as part of the common security and defence policy; (4) foster the industrial and technological resources required for the development of the single digital market so as to stimulate the emergence of a European industry and market for secure ICT; (5) enhance the EU's international cyberspace policy so as to promote the respect of EU core values, define norms for responsible behaviour and advocate the application of existing international laws to cyberspace; (6) assist third countries in strengthening their resilience of information infrastructure globally; (7) clarify the role and responsibilities of the various European players in the field of cyber-security.
The objective of the directive relating to the strategy is to ensure a high common level of network and information security in the EU. With this in mind, the member states are called to: (1) set up a well-functioning computer emergency response team (CERT); (2) appoint a national competent authority for network and information security (NIS) which would have the task of coordinating the NIS networks and leading cross-border cooperation; (3) adopt a national NIS security plan defining protocols for cooperation and communication among relevant players at national level; (4) adopt a national strategy outlining the policy actions that each member state intends to take to ensure a high level of cybersecurity. (IL/transl.fl)