It is a new tool which aims to better protect yourself from computer attacks. The European Union will adopt a “cyber shield”, the 27 member countries announced in a press release on Wednesday March 6. In order to better detect possible cyberattacks, which have increased since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the EU will equip itself with an alert system, extended to its entire territory.
Detection will be entrusted to a European network of six or seven “cyber hubs”, according to this press release. Equipped with supercomputers and artificial intelligence systems, they will operate on the model of the Galileo satellite system, indicated the European Commission when presenting this “cyber shield” project last year.
Reduce the time to detect a computer attack
The idea is to reduce as much as possible the detection time of a computer attack on European infrastructures (hospitals, energy networks, etc.) in order to better counter it. Today, an average of 190 days elapse between the start of the distribution of malware and the moment it is detected, the Commission highlighted last April.
The EU will also establish a “cyber reserve”, made up of several thousand participants, public and private service providers, on a voluntary basis, to support the defense effort in the event of an attack. A Member State, an institution and certain associated third countries, such as Switzerland or Norway, will be able to call on this “reserve” in the event of a significant or large-scale attack, according to the press release of the 27.
The cost of this “cyber shield” was estimated at more than 1 billion euros, two-thirds financed by the EU, by the European Commission last April. These new measures must still be formally adopted by the Council of the EU, which brings together the member states, and the European Parliament.