Thierry Breton announces a budget of one billion euros to create a “European cyber shield”

Given the increase in cyberattacks with the war in Ukraine in particular, Europe wants to equip itself with a “cybershield”, a project that costs more than one billion euros, announced on Wednesday the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, in an interview . with The Echoes

The investment will amount to “more than 1,000 million euros, two thirds financed by Europe”, he specified, adding that on April 18 he will present a European regulation, the “Cyber ​​​​Solidarity Act”.

On the occasion of the International Cybersecurity Forum (ICF) which opens in Lille on Wednesday, the Commissioner announced the construction, starting in 2024, of several “security operational centres” to reinforce the cybersecurity of the Member States.

The “Cyber ​​Resilience Law”

“With the war in Ukraine, cyberattacks increased by 140% in Europe last year. In this context, the pooling and coordination of our forces at the European level becomes more necessary than ever because the threat will spread”, he pointed out.

The new regulation will encourage affected countries to take offensive action as soon as an attack can be attributed. The European Union has already equipped itself with a legislative arsenal, such as the “Cyber​​Resilience Act” announced at the end of last year, which establishes common rules regarding connected objects, or the NIS 2 directive, scheduled for 2024, which imposes new security obligations on companies.