[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/10160\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EEuropean cybersecurity is getting its own legs to stand on\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn February last year, as oil prices spiked following Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, computers stopped working at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp oil trading hub. This group of terminals concentrated at some of Europe\u0027s biggest ports had fallen victim to a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.securityweek.com\/european-oil-port-terminals-hit-cyberattack\/\u0022\u003Ecyberattack\u003C\/a\u003E. Barges couldn\u0027t be unloaded and supply was disrupted.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ECyberattacks on critical infrastructure like energy companies, hospitals and government agencies have become common occurrences. The European cybersecurity agency,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.enisa.europa.eu\/news\/ransomware-publicly-reported-incidents-are-only-the-tip-of-the-iceberg\u0022\u003EENISA\u003C\/a\u003E, encountered 623 ransomware incidents from May 2021 to June 2022. Each month, 10 terabytes of often-confidential data were stolen in this way.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EHomegrown need\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In the past years we have seen an exponential increase in the amount of cyberattacks and the damage they cause,\u2019 said Matteo Merialdo of RHEA Group, a Belgian cybersecurity company that is a project manager in the EU-funded \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/830943\u0022\u003EECHO\u003C\/a\u003E project. \u2018We need a European response.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EEurope is heavily dependent on US software providers for its cybersecurity and building more European alternatives could make the continent better able to fend off attacks, according to Merialdo, who is RHEA\u0027s deputy business unit manager of security services and has a Master\u0027s degree in software engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EEurope is trying to strengthen its homegrown cybersecurity industry, with researchers and companies developing new tools and building up so-called strategic autonomy amid heightened geopolitical rivalries worldwide.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn a sign of how cybersecurity has jumped up the European political agenda, the EU in 2020 \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/en\/press\/press-releases\/2020\/07\/30\/eu-imposes-the-first-ever-sanctions-against-cyber-attacks\/ \u0022\u003Eimposed cyber sanctions for the first time\u003C\/a\u003E by blacklisting a number of Russian, Chinese and North Korean hackers.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We of course needs allies like the US,\u2019 said Merialdo. \u2018But American companies are making a lot of money in Europe, which could go to European companies. At the same time, we need to be able to stand our ground with local solutions in case we come under attack.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EJust why this is important was signaled when Russia launched its full-scale military assault against Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Russian cyberattacks repeatedly targeted the country and its infrastructure before and after the invasion.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The ways to wage war are changing,\u2019 said Merialdo. \u2018War doesn\u0027t just extend to the sea, air and land anymore, but also to cyberspace.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/security\/business\/microsoft-digital-defense-report-2022%23tabx68817241d48e47a796fba5a67d4a6ef4\u0022\u003EMicrosoft\u003Cu\u003E\u2019\u003C\/u\u003Es\u003C\/a\u003E Digital Defence Report 2022 recorded 237 cyber operations targeting Ukraine in the six weeks leading up to the invasion. Attacks have also continued since then.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Launching cyberattacks is cheaper than buying fighter jets,\u2019 said Merialdo. \u2018Yet they can still do quite a lot of damage.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETesting ground\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EECHO, which ends this month after four years, has brought together a number of European cybersecurity players to develop software that could prepare for and mitigate cyberattacks. The project is coordinated by\u0026nbsp;Belgium\u0027s Royal Military Academy. Merialdo, who also has a degree in telecommunications engineering, stressed the goal of strengthening the capacity within Europe to deal with these challenges.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EAmerican companies are making a lot of money in Europe, which could go to European companies.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EMatteo Merialdo, ECHO\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There\u0027s a huge technological gap with the US\u0026nbsp;\u2013\u0026nbsp;there\u0027s not a knowledge gap,\u2019 he said. \u2018Europe has very strong research and in-depth knowledge. But we use too many US tools. We have to mitigate this gap because it threatens our sovereignty.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAmong other research the ECHO team focused their attention on Cyber Range technologies. Cyber ranges are testing grounds of sorts in which organisations can put their cyber defences under pressure without compromising their actual systems.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ECyber ranges allows its users to construct a detailed reproduction of their digital systems. This copy can then serve as a training ground for employees. All kinds of attacks can be thrown at them, without disrupting their actual work, according to Merialdo.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It\u0027s an emulation of reality,\u2019 he said. \u2018A nuclear power plant can, for example, organise an almost real exercise. If a space control centre wants to test its operators on how to respond to a cyberattack, you cannot do that on the main network. If you do, you risk knocking your satellites out of orbit.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ECyber ranges come in many shapes and sizes. National defence agencies often employ expansive cyber ranges to simulate large-scale cyberwarfare.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBut tools like the one developed by ECHO can also just be employed by individual companies to train their cybersecurity staff. According to Merialdo, developing this sort of technology inside Europe is an important step for the region\u0027s strategic independence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBecause of increasing digitialsation, even places like space control centres are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Everything from household appliances to basic government services rely on digital connections and, as a result, need someone to protect them from attacks.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Cybersecurity is now everywhere,\u2019 said Merialdo. \u2018It\u0027s in hospitals, space missions, nuclear power plants or even just our houses.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMore teamwork\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EECHO helped lay the groundwork for the creation in 2021 of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cybersecurity-centre.europa.eu\/index_en\u0022\u003EEuropean Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC)\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;Located in Romania, the ECCC coordinates European cybersecurity projects, funds them and aligns the work of national cybersecurity agencies.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EBefore there wasn\u0026#039;t always a lot of coordination between companies, projects and researchers.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003ENick Ferguson, cyberwatching.eu\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018A lot of funding goes into cybersecurity,\u2019 said Nick Ferguson, a senior project manager at Italy-based marketing and research business Trust-IT Services. \u2018But before there wasn\u0027t always a lot of coordination between companies, projects and researchers.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHe led the EU-funded \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/740129\u0022\u003Ecyberwatching.eu\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;initiative, which ended in mid-2021 after four years. It developed an interactive overview of all EU-supported projects on cybersecurity to improve cooperation in the industry, drive investments and spot trends.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFerguson, a former teacher with a Master\u0027s degree in educational management, thinks cybersecurity in Europe is headed in the right direction. Greater attention and investment are going into it and a more European approach is emerging.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Cybersecurity is very fast-moving,\u2019 Ferguson said. \u2018Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain are important to watch. At the same time, any gaps in your capabilities can be dangerous.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU. 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