The European Commission has introduced a blueprint to improve the EU’s cybersecurity crisis management framework. As Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy, states: "In an increasingly interdependent Union economy, disruptions from cybersecurity incidents can have far-reaching impacts across various sectors." This highlights the critical need for a coordinated and effective system to anticipate and address cyber incidents.
The Cyber Blueprint is a non-binding framework that outlines actions for key stakeholders during a cyber crisis, with the aim of improving the EU crisis management system. It defines large-scale cybersecurity incidents and details the use of mechanisms like the Cybersecurity Emergency Mechanism and the EU Cybersecurity Reserve to manage and recover from such crises. Additionally, it promotes a more structured cooperation between civilian and military actors, including collaboration with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), recognizing that a large-scale cyber incident impacting Union civilian infrastructure crucial to the military, could trigger NATO’s response mechanisms.
In this context, the primary goal of the Cyber Blueprint is to support collaboration among relevant Union actors, helping them to work together effectively and to use available mechanisms throughout the entire crisis management process to ensure a coordinated response to cyber threats.
Cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important, with its potential negative impact growing in scale. While the Cyber blueprint fosters stronger collaboration among key Union actors, cybersecurity threats and resilience are global concerns that transcend regional borders.
To achieve a comprehensive cybersecurity resilience, INSTAR is promoting the alignment of international cybersecurity standardization priorities. This initiative involves collaboration with relevant entities from Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and the USA.
In conclusion, through enhanced coordination and robust cross-border collaboration, these initiatives lay the foundation for a more resilient and secure digital future.
