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Cyber security: EU and US strengthen transatlantic cooperation in face of mounting global cyber-security and cyber-crime threats

Yesterday, as part of the EU-US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial in Gödöllo (Hungary), Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano reiterated their shared commitment to deepening cooperation to address the increasing threats to global internet and digital networks. They agreed to strengthen trans-Atlantic cooperation in cyber-security by defining the issues to be tackled by the EU-US Working Group on Cyber-Security and Cyber-Crime. This Working Group, established at the EU-US Summit in November 2010 (MEMO/10/597) is tasked with developing collaborative approaches to a wide range of cyber-security and cyber-crime issues.

These efforts include:

  • expanding incident management response capabilities jointly and globally, through a cooperation programme culminating in a joint EU-US cyber-incident exercise by the end of 2011

  • a broad commitment to engage the private sector, sharing of good practices on collaboration with industry, and pursuing specific engagement on key issue areas such as fighting botnets, securing industrial control systems (such as water treatment and power generation), and enhancing the resilience and stability of the Internet

  • a programme of immediate joint awareness raising activities, sharing messages and models across the Atlantic, as well as a roadmap towards synchronised annual awareness efforts and a conference on child protection online in Silicon Valley by end 2011

  • continuing EU/US cooperation to remove child pornography from the Internet, including through work with domain-name registrars and registries

  • advancing the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, including a programme to expand accession by all EU Member States, and collaboration to assist states outside the region in meeting its standards and become parties.

The Working Group will be a model for outreach to other countries or organisations which address similar cyber issues in order to share approaches and related activities.

The Working Group will report to the next EU-US Summit which will take place at the end of the year.

Background

The EU-US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Conference is followed by the Telecom Ministerial Conference on Critical Information Infrastructure Protection organised by the Hungarian Presidency of the EU in Balatonfüred, Hungary.

The EU-US Working Group on Cyber-security and Cyber-crime was established in the context of the EU-US Summit of 20 November 2010 held in Lisbon (PRES/10/315) with the aim to tackle new threats to the global networks upon which the security and prosperity of our free societies increasingly depend.

Within the European Commission, Vice-President Kroes is responsible for cyber-security and Commissioner Malmström for tackling cyber-crime. Within the United States, the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of Commerce and other federal entities collaborate to help strengthen cyber-security and fight cyber crime.

 

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