Since the pandemic started last year, European citizens have had to radically realign their lives to the new reality. For the most part, this has meant rapidly migrating our personal and professional lives online. With this comes a broad range of policy measures aimed at reinforcing Europe’s connectivity and heightening cybersecurity standards across 2021.
The pandemic also resulted in vastly accelerated profits for many of the tech giants, highlighting their dominance across online markets and provoking concern among competition regulators in Brussels.
This, alongside a renewed commitment to further harmonizing rules for online services, contributed to the conception and presentation of the EU’s landmark Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act ahead of the Christmas break.
Met dank overgenomen van Europese Commissie (EC), gepubliceerd op woensdag 16 december 2020.
We are back in front of you today with a second security package in as many weeks. This shows our determination to make the Security Union a reality.
We do not need to look far to see why this is also a necessity at the current juncture.
Last September the Dusseldorf University Clinic in Germany was hit by a ransomware attack, which crippled the entire IT network of the hospital and forced Health staff to direct emergency patients elsewhere.
The cyberattack resulted in a woman seeking emergency treatment for a life-threatening condition dying after she had to be taken to another city for treatment. This has been reported as the
‘We are a prime target,’ Schinas says, as Commission strives to bolster cyber resilience 16-12-2020
(From L to R) European Commission vice-president in charge for High-Representative of the Union for Foreign Policy and Security Policy Josep Borrell, European Commission vice-president in charge for promoting our European way of life Margaritis Schinas and EU commissioner for internal market Thierry Breton give a press conference on the cybersecurity strategy at EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 16 December 2020. [EPA-EFE/KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / POOL]