Brussels, 16/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - The mandate of the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) must be extended and its activities widened in the long term. That was the message delivered on Thursday 16 April by new Executive Director of ENISA Udo Helmbrecht, addressing the European Parliament industry, research and energy committee on the agency's activities.
While welcoming the extension of ENISA's activities until 2012, Helmbrecht felt that the agency should become a permanent institution. The importance of new technologies in economic activities was continually growing and cybercrime was following a similar developmental path, increasingly threatening security networks, the new chief said. “It has to become a recognised and appreciated centre of research and expertise,” he said. Cooperation between ENISA, member states and interested other parties was, he felt, essential to avoid duplication and allow effective and complimentary work. The agency also had to be a platform for spreading best practice among member states. There could, he said, be trilateral projects and a common European project. Education within small businesses and of private users was also essential to warn them of internet-linked dangers and encourage the use of protection (firewall, antivirus) and ENISA must work with member states to put in place information campaigns, he went on. Existing instruments had to be used to best purpose, activities had to be transparent and results visible; ENISA's role was to lead the way and to devise network security standards, Helmbrecht said.
Alexander Nuno Alvaro (ALDE, Germany) welcomed the new director's ambitions. He backed the latter's call for the agency to become permanent and to be given the necessary instruments to allow it to operate properly. He highlighted the agency's role in providing information to member states, companies and individuals about network security. Norbert Glante (PES, Germany) said that member states should allow ENISA to work on behalf of the European Union with third countries, such as the United States and Russia, to ensure network security throughout the world. Erika Mann (PES, Germany) felt that ENISA was “a still not very elegant baby” and that it was hugely important to clearly define the tasks assigned it in the future and those for which member states would be responsible. She said that companies and individuals had specific needs in relation to increased cyber attacks and ENISA's duties had to be better defined. (I.L./transl.rt)