assertiveness in cyberspace. It aims to boost cyber defence capabilities through the individual or joint action of Member States, and to strengthen coordination and cooperation between the EU cyber communities. It will also work towards reducing the EU’s strategic dependencies in critical cyber technologies and strengthen the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB). The policy will set the EU’s rules of the game and propose ways to reinforce solidarity at the heart of the EU in the sphere of cyber defence, as well as for cooperating with the private sector to enhance response in case of major cyberattacks. Given the transnational nature of cyber threats, it will develop mutually beneficial and tailored partnerships in the area of cyber defence, including cyber defence capacity building, and enhance the partner countries’ cyber resilience. As proposed in the Strategic Compass for Security and Defence2 adopted by the Council in March 2022, the present Policy on Cyber Defence will thus enhance the ability to prevent, detect, defend against, recover from, and deter cyberattacks aimed at the EU and its Member States using all means available. This is in line with the Commission’s digital priorities, the ambition set out in the 2020 EU Cybersecurity Strategy3, the announcement of President von der Leyen in her 2021 State of the Union address4 and the Council conclusions on the development of the European Union’s cyber posture5 of 23 May 2022. The 2022 Joint Communication on defence investment gaps6 also encouraged the EU and its Member States to launch work towards a full-spectrum cyber defence capability – from research, detection and protection to response. II. EU CYBER DEFENCE TO PROTECT, DETECT, DETER AND DEFEND AGAINST CYBERATTACKS 1. Act together for a stronger cyber defence Cyberattacks are often cross-border in nature and may have a physical impact on critical infrastructure in the EU. Significant cybersecurity incidents can be too disruptive for a single or several affected Member States to handle alone. They can also form part of larger hybrid attacks carried out by third countries with the aim to destabilise the economy and society, to weaken critical infrastructure needed to ensure the security of the EU or to undermine and harm the functioning of democracies, including through attacks on election infrastructures. In 2018, the EU identified cyberspace as a domain of military operations. The ‘Military Vision and Strategy on Cyberspace as a Domain of Operations’7 adopted in 2021 sets the framework conditions and describes the ends, ways and means needed to use cyberspace as a domain of operations in support of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) operations. Cyber defence and the employment of related capabilities in the entire spectrum of military 2 A Strategic Compass for Security and Defence - For a European Union that protects its citizens, values and interests and contributes to international peace and security 3 The EU's Cybersecurity Strategy for the Digital Decade, JOIN/2020/18 final 4 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_21_4701 5 9364/22 6 JOIN(2022) 24 final 7 EEAS(2021) 706 REV4 2