The European Commission has proposed the Cyber Solidarity Act to combat cyber threats within the continental alliance, with a network of national SOCs and cross-border SOCs underpinning a European “Cyber Shield”.
The proposal also includes the creation of a Cybersecurity Emergency Mechanism, allowing governments to tap into private sector incident responses during emergencies. The bill seeks to address the cybersecurity skill shortage by setting up a training academy.
Concerns over cyber threats within the European Union have been raised following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, highlighting the need for better information sharing between national capitals on cybersecurity incidents.
The commission initiated a first phase of setting up cross-border security operations centers in November, with the aim of reducing the time between the spread of malware and its detection to just a few hours.
The Cyber Solidarity Act builds on a range of other efforts aimed at boosting European cybersecurity, including the proposed Cyber Resilience Act and an expanded cybersecurity directive known as NIS2. The Cyber Solidarity Act is more action-oriented and focuses on cybercrime prevention, and is intended to tackle the threat of cyber attacks in Europe, with the war in Ukraine having boosted the EU’s efforts to do so.
