In the past six months, the European Union (EU) has made significant strides toward manifesting itself as a global leader in terms of cybersecurity regulation, Global Cyber Risk CEO Jody Westby believes. Among the EU’s major accomplishments in this area are the establishment of cybersecurity requirements for critical infrastructure firms and digital service providers, as well as the introduction of a certification framework covering digital service, products and processes.
Moreover, the EU’s new Cybersecurity Act has established the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) as a permanent government agency with extensive responsibilities and a budget of around $19 million, which will increase to over $24 million next year. But that is just the tip of the iceberg, for the European Commission is planning to spend over $2.2 billion in the 2021-27 period on “safeguarding the EU’s digital economy, society and democracies through polling expertise, boosting EU’s cybersecurity industry, financing state-of-the-art cybersecurity equipment and infrastructure.” Furthermore, over this period the EU is planning to spend over $111 billion on research and innovation, including in cyberspace, as part of its Horizon Europe initiative.
According to Jody Westby, the EU’s cybersecurity ambitions and investments may result in “many US businesses […] having to follow EU cybersecurity regulations,” especially because the US might “have squandered a significant opportunity to hold the lead on cybersecurity.”
Read more: Why The EU Is About To Seize The Global Lead On Cybersecurity
