EU Takes Tougher Stance on Hackers

EU countries have agreed on harsher punishments against hackers who launch cyber attacks similar to those seen in recent weeks against the French government, European institutions and Citigroup, Reuters reports.

Under the new rules, hackers would face a sentence of at least five years if found guilty of…

Report: Inconsistency in Creating Cybersecurity Strategies Common among EU Nations

A new report on network and information security finds that European nations are highly varied in how prepared they are for dealing with cyber crime, network attacks and network resilience, according to the European Network and Information Security Agency.

ENISA’s “Country Reports” features an overview and detailed reports on 30 European nations, with information…

EU Websites Hacked Hours Before Sensitive Summit

Hackers yesterday broke into the European Commission’s websites, just hours from a sensitive summit of EU leaders debating the situation in Libya, the euro debt crisis and nuclear safety, officials said.

“All staff were warned this morning” that “remote access to emails was no longer operational,” a spokesman for the commission told AFP.

Pages from EU websites, mainly those from the European External Action Service, which…

More Maltese Businesses Succumb to Cyber Attacks

Cyber attacks against Maltese businesses are on the rise, with a significant number reporting corruption or theft of data, according to a poll surveying the European nations.

As Maltese corporations become more dependent on computer technology, outside hacker attempts have risen above the average level compared to other nations in the European Union, according to Times of Malta.

Last year, 7 percent of companies in Malta…

Europe Boosts Cyber Defense, Global Collaborations

A new strategy proposes the establishment of a center that will pool the efforts of European Union member countries to battle cyber threats and other criminal activities that use the Internet as a digital battleground, Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter reports.

“We have to adopt to the digital reality and meet the challenge of cyber crime,” said…

European Union Considers Stronger Cybersecurity, Stricter Penalties for Hackers

Europe must build stronger defenses against cyber attacks and enforce harsher punishments against convicted hackers, the European Commission said yesterday.

According to AFP, the commission proposed a new regulation imposing a prison sentence of at least two years for using malicious software or stealing computer passwords to commit a crime. For more serious crimes…

Green Hackers Hit EU Climate Exchange Website

The website for the European Union Climate Exchange was hacked in political protest against carbon credits by hactivists late last week. The landing page of ECX.eu was hit with digital graffiti decrying the market-based approach to carbon emissions. A group of anonymous hackers calling themselves Decocidio claimed responsibility for the attack.

The hack included links to Earth First, Climate Justice Action, and the Hack Block and an embedded video titled…

Buckle in for the Cyber ‘Wilderness of Mirrors’

Within the European Union and NATO, security professionals have been circulating dire warnings to colleagues regarding the growing cyber espionage threat from China. In recent months, the Chinese have appeared to more aggressively target NATO, EU and U.S. networks in an effort to steal intelligence secrets.

Within the EU, cybersecurity is left up to individual member states and is not…