Europe must be able to fight back in cyberspace, as the strategy of deterring adversaries is no longer enough, the EU executive's technology and security chief told POLITICO.
“It is not enough to just defend ourselves… We also need to have an offensive capability,” said European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen in an interview on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday.
For years, European capitals have avoided publicly stating that they support aggressive cyber operations – also known as “hacking back” – due to fears that such operations could provoke retaliation and escalation from countries such as Russia, China and others.
But the situation is changing, as EU states, including Germany, Latvia and others, are now embracing the idea of conducting offensive cyber operations. The European Commission also mentioned the need for defensive and offensive cyber capabilities in its defense white paper in December.
Virkkunen said the Commission has also identified critical sectors and industries where Europe wants greater control over its data. This is part of a broader effort to reduce dependence on foreign technology and build a homegrown cyber technology industry in Europe.
“We don’t want to have dangerous dependencies in any critical area,” he said.
“This does not mean that we plan to do everything ourselves. When we do not have specific capabilities ourselves, we are very willing to work with like-minded partners to create resilient production chains.”
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
