Fittex

The digital transformation is making the EU institutions and administration more vulnerable to cyber-threats and incidents. Their number has surged dramatically in recent years: there were as many incidents during the first half of 2021 as in the whole of 2020, for instance. Yet an analysis of 20 Union institutions, bodies and agencies showed that their governance, preparedness, cybersecurity capability and maturity vary substantially, weakening the system. This proposal for a regulation would establish ...

The Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive is the first piece of EU-wide legislation on cybersecurity, and its specific aim was to achieve a high common level of cybersecurity across the Member States. While it increased the Member States' cybersecurity capabilities, its implementation proved difficult, resulting in fragmentation at different levels across the internal market. To respond to the growing threats posed with digitalisation and the surge in cyber-attacks, the Commission has ...

Qualified certificates for website authentication (QWACs) allow users to identify who is behind a website. Aiming to increase QWAC uptake, the Commission has proposed an obligation for web-browsers to recognise them and make them more visible. The proposal has prompted fierce debate. While the Council agrees with the Commission and the Parliament is still debating its position, many stakeholders have raised concerns.

The present impact assessment (IA) accompanies the proposal for horizontal cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements. The IA's strong points include a well-substantiated problem definition, an evidence base that appears to be recent and relevant, and a transparent account of the assumptions and limitations of the analysis. Furthermore, an effort has been made in the IA to quantify the total costs and benefits for the manufacturers of products with digital elements. However, the ...

Child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse are among the worst forms of violence against children, and constitute serious crimes that know no borders. The constant rise in child sexual exploitation and abuse, exacerbated by the COVID 19 pandemic, underscores the importance of harmonised national legislation and international cooperation to prevent these offences, protect the victims and prosecute the perpetrators. The European Day helps to raise awareness to this end. This is an update of a publication ...

Protecting critical infrastructure against physical and digital threats is more than ever high on the EU agenda, not least in the light of the recent Nord Stream gas pipelines sabotage. During the November II plenary session, the European Parliament is due to vote on a provisional agreement on rules to enhance critical entities' resilience.

Cyber-attacks and cybercrime continue to rise worldwide. The EU is planning to increase its cyber-resilience by updating the Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive. The expansion of the scope to be covered by the proposed NIS2 directive, obliging more entities and sectors to take consistent measures, would help increase the level of cybersecurity in Europe in the longer term. The European Parliament is due to vote in plenary in November on the agreement reached in interinstitutional negotiations ...

The EU has made substantial progress in terms of protecting its citizens since the early 1990s. This has often been in response to dramatic incidents, such as murders committed by the mafia or other organised crime groups or big money-laundering scandals, or to negative trends, such as the steep increase in migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings following the 2015 migration crisis. More recently, it was necessary to respond to the sharp rise in cybercrime, fraud and counterfeiting during ...

Russia launched its war on Ukraine on 24 February 2022, but Russian cyber-attacks against Ukraine have persisted ever since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, intensifying just before the 2022 invasion. Over this period, Ukraine's public, energy, media, financial, business and non-profit sectors have suffered the most. Since 24 February, limited Russian cyber-attacks have undermined the distribution of medicines, food and relief supplies. Their impact has ranged from preventing access ...

Serious and organised crime inflict huge costs on both the EU economy and society. Organised crime is an increasingly dynamic and complex phenomenon, as it has become more interconnected, transnational and digital. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to an increase in cybercrime, fraud and counterfeiting. Police and judicial actions and the effective implementation of existing EU instruments are critical in tackling this challenge. New strategies to disrupt the business models and structures of criminal ...