EU Requests $2B Public-Private Cybersecurity Investment

The European Union wants to work with private companies to fund cybersecurity research.

According to Computerworld, the EU has already put up €450 million ($500 million) for the cause but is requesting that the industry contributes the remaining sum to bring the total investment to $2 billion.

In a report released earlier this week, the EU’s executive body, the European Commission, warned that cyberattacks “could undermine the digital single market and economic and social life as a whole.”

The goal of the cybersecurity public-private partnership (cPPP) is to facilitate global research into cybersecurity and help develop a range of security products and services for various industries, including energy, health, transport and finance.

Last year, the European Commission pushed forward with its Network and Information Security Directive to initiate security protocols between member states and EU lawmakers.

The details of the security plans, however, remained a subject of debate as some regulators weren’t sure which companies should be bound by the rules. The regulations are aimed at having search engines, social networks, eCommerce sites and cloud computing providers keep authorities informed about potential breaches. While some are arguing to include more companies, some members of the European Parliament suggest that it should only be implemented for major sectors, including energy, transport and finance.

Andrus Ansip, the European Commission’s digital chief, told Reuters in December that the new measure will help to build consumers’ trust in the cross-border and domestic internet services they use.

The directive comes at a time when there are mounting concerns over the threat of cyberattacks and the subsequent privacy and security breaches that can accompany them.

“The internet knows no border — a problem in one country can have a knock-on effect in the rest of Europe. This is why we need EU-wide cybersecurity solutions. This agreement is an important step in this direction,” Ansip said.