Framework is currently ongoing with Member States and would also be taken forward in
close coordination with the Blueprint to respond to large scale cyber incidents79. Situational
awareness necessary for the use of measures within the framework should be fused, analysed
and shared by INTCEN,80 working closely together with the Member States and EU
institutions.
3.5
Building cybersecurity deterrence through the Member States' defence capability
Member States are already developing cyber defence capabilities. In addition, given the
blurring of lines between cyber defence and cybersecurity and the dual-use nature of cyber
tools and technologies, as well as of the great variations between Member States’ approaches,
the EU is well placed to help promote synergies between military and civilian efforts.81
Those Member States with more advanced cybersecurity capabilities and willing to pull them
together could consider, with support from the High Representative, the Commission and the
European Defence Agency, to include cyber defence within the framework of a "Permanent
Structured Cooperation" (PESCO). This could be underpinned by the work set out above to
encourage EU industrial capacities and strategic autonomy. The EU can also promote
interoperability, including by facilitating capability development, coordination of training and
education and dual-use standardisation efforts.
Full use should also be made of the joint framework to respond to hybrid threats, which often
involve cyber-attacks, notably through the EU Hybrid Fusion Cell and the recently established
European Centre for Countering Hybrid Threats in Helsinki, whose mission is to encourage
strategic dialogue and conduct research and analysis.
The EU will bring a renewed emphasis to the 2014 EU Cyber Defence Policy Framework82,
as a tool to further integrate cybersecurity and defence into Common Security and Defence
Policy (CSDP). The cyber-resilience of CSDP missions and operations themselves is
essential: standardised procedures and technical capabilities will be developed that could
support both deployed civilian and military missions and operations as well as their respective
Planning and Conduct Capability structures and EEAS information technology service
providers. In order to advance Member States' cooperation and better guide EU efforts in this
field, the European Defence Agency and the EEAS, in cooperation with Commission services,
will facilitate strategic level engagement between Member States’ cyber defence
policymakers. The EU will also support the development of European cybersecurity solutions
as part of its efforts in favor of a European Defence Technological and Industrial Base. This
also includes the fostering of regional clusters of excellence in cybersecurity and defence.
The Commission services, working in close cooperation the EEAS, Member States and other
relevant EU bodies, will be put in place by 2018 a cyber defence training and education
platform to address the current skills gap in cyber defence. This will complement the work of
the European Defence Agency in this area, helping address the current skills gap in
cybersecurity and cyber defence.
Key actions
79
80
81
82
A Commission initiative for cross-border access to electronic evidence (early 2018);
C(2017) 6100.
JOIN(2016) 018 final.
The EU understands cyber space as a domain of operations like land, air and sea. Cyber defence efforts also
include the protection and resilience of space assets and related ground infrastructures.
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