Cybersecurity
Risks to Europe: Identification, evaluation, mitigation
The EU defines risk management capability as ‘the ability of a Member State or its regions to reduce, adapt to or mitigate risks (impacts and likelihood of a disaster), identified in its risk assessments to levels that are acceptable in...
Europe urged to bolster defences against climate, cyber risks
Nations across the globe should step up preparations against global risks such as climate change and cyber attacks, EU officials say, as these areas remain the most pressing for global experts surveyed ahead of this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) taking place in Davos next week.
Germany considers Huawei 5G ban amid global backlash against Chinese tech giant
The German government is considering excluding Huawei from the country's 5G market amid a global backlash against the Chinese telecoms company. The news comes a week after a senior Huawei executive was arrested on espionage charges in Poland.
EU seeks information as Chinese espionage scandal hits Poland
European Commission will seek information from Poland after national authorities arrested this week a Chinese Huawei employee and a Polish national over espionage allegations.
Trump is ‘not America,’ Weber says after US downgrades EU diplomatic status
One of the frontrunners to take up the next EU Commission Presidency, Manfred Weber, responded to concerns over the US Trump administration on Wednesday (9 January), saying that the President "is not America".
The nightmare before Christmas: Cybersecurity risks for children’s toys
The lack of a legal framework to protect children's toys against cybersecurity risks could prove to have damaging consequences, a leading European consumer rights group has warned ahead of the Christmas festivities, advising parents that some of those toys should not even be kept at home.
EU suffers major cyber-security scandal with publication of 1,100 secret cables
A trove of hacked EU diplomatic cables made available to the New York Times revealed no major secrets, but displayed the remarkably poor protection of routine exchanges among EU officials.
Russia used social media for widespread meddling in US politics, reports say
Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election on social media was more widespread than previously thought and included attempts to divide Americans by race and extreme ideology, said reports by private experts released on Monday (17 December) by US senators from both parties.
Twitter tumbles on concerns about hacking activity
Twitter shares fell almost 7 percent on Monday after the company said it was investigating unusual traffic that might be from state-sponsored hackers and, in what appeared to be an unrelated issue, a security firm said hackers used the platform to try to steal user data.
Huawei $2 billion security pledge followed walkout by British official: sources
Huawei’s relations with British authorities hit a low last month when a top official walked out of a meeting with the Chinese company over its perceived failure to fix security holes in its products, sources familiar with the talks told Reuters.
EU negotiators reach agreement on cybersecurity act
Representatives from the European Commission, Council and Parliament on Monday (10 December) evening banded together to strengthen the bloc's Cybersecurity efforts, reaching agreement on the EU's cybersecurity act.
The security of European citizens: What role for e-evidence?
Nowadays, the success of criminal investigations is increasingly reliant on the ability of law enforcement to obtain electronic evidence. This shift to the digital space is posing complex challenges due to the international character and lack of borders in the digital world.
Czech security service says Russia behind cyber attacks on ministry
Russia’s intelligence services were behind cyber attacks targeting the Czech foreign ministry last year, the Czech security service said on Monday in its annual report.
‘God help us’: Khashoggi’s hacked WhatsApp messages provide clues about killing
Messages obtained from the WhatsApp account of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi shine a light on the possible reasons behind his death, depicting the full extent of his animosity towards Saudi Arabia and his plans to establish an "electronic army" of activists against the regime.
Germany: Critical cyberattacks target government and military networks
German security services have revealed that critical national infrastructures such as government and military networks have been the target of a series of cyberattacks in November, raising broader concerns about their overall resilience.
UK intelligence services: We don’t disclose every cyber vulnerability
In a landmark move, the UK intelligence services unveiled on Thursday (29 November) the process by which they decide to disclose security vulnerabilities to technology firms. Not every weakness discovered in a system is always disclosed to the company in question, they revealed.
UK and Dutch data protection bodies fine Uber for breaches
Global ridesharing giant Uber has been hit with fines from both UK and Dutch data protection authorities after attackers gained access to the personal information of around 50 million users worldwide.
EU citizens concerned about cybersecurity ahead of 2019 elections, study finds
An increasing number of EU citizens are concerned about the manipulation of elections through cyberattacks and malicious interventions, according to figures published on Monday (26 November).
Can the EU lead on cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity has become a prominent topic on the EU policy agenda. The NIS directive, the EU's first cybersecurity law, went into effect in May of this year. And the European Commission proposed more legislation, known as the cybersecurity act, in September 2017.
US asks allies to shun Huawei equipment over espionage fears
The US government is trying to persuade wireless and internet providers in allied countries to avoid telecommunications equipment from China’s Huawei Technologies, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday (22 November).
Facebook to pay €100m in Italian fiscal accord, while appealing UK fine
Facebook has agreed to pay more than €100 million to end a fiscal fraud dispute, Italian tax authorities said on Thursday (23 October). The announcement came as the social media giant pledged to appeal against an October fine of around €565,000 from the UK's data protection authority.
EU equips itself for fight against manipulation at European elections
Brexit, the American elections - and talso he European elections? It is likely that "fake news" campaigns and attacks by hackers will also launched before the European elections. How well is Brussels prepared? EURACTIV Germany reports.
‘Potentially devastating’ cybersecurity risks for UK, report finds
The UK's joint committee on the National Security Structure published a damning report on Britain's critical national infrastructure (CNI) on Monday (19 November), saying that cyber threats range across a number of sectors including energy, health services, transport and water.