At the launch of the SDA’s cyber-security initiative, a high-ranking panel assembled discussants to tackle the core question of “Defining cyber-security”. In her keynote address, European Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström warned that denial about the scale of threats in cyberspace is naïve. “This is a battle we may not win”, she warned, calling “on all governments and industry to put this high on their agenda.” Additional insights were provided by representatives from Europol, non-EU partner nations such as the United States and Israel, and the private ICT sector.  

This debate opened a new SDA series that seeks to make sense of the confusion over cyber-security and cyber-crime, and examines the cooperation mechanisms both in place and urgently needed. How vulnerable is Europe to cyber-attack, and what EU-level measures are now under discussion? How does Europe compare in the global drive to promote cyber-protection? What concrete actions should now be taken at national and international level and how can these actions be coordinated? 

The SDA's cyber-security initiative is supported by a coalition of public and private partners: