With War Next Door, EU is Warned on Cybersecurity Gaps

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine accelerates European Union defense cooperation, a watchdog said that EU institutions face vulnerabilities on another front: cybersecurity.

- 

The warning by the European Court of Auditors covers the wide range of EU bodies — from the executive arm based in Brussels to specialist agencies located across Europe — that run the 27-nation bloc’s day-to-day business.

“The EU must step up its efforts to protect its own organizations,” Bettina Jakobsen, a member of the ECA, said in a statement accompanying a special report on cyber threats. “Such attacks can have significant political implications.”

Cyberattacks against EU bodies are increasing “sharply,” with major incidents jumping more than tenfold between 2018 and 2021, according to the Luxembourg-based ECA.

Cybersecurity has jumped up the political agenda in Europe following attacks in recent years that targeted EU nations such as Germany and other industrialized countries including the United States, Britain and Australia.