11 January, 2018
Cybersecurity: ETNO calls for responsibility across the ecosystem and incentives to industry-led solutions
Brussels, 11 January 2018 – European digital leadership strictly depends on enforcing security. This is the key message in ETNO’s first 2018 Position Paper on the EU Cybersecurity package, which comes as the EU institutions speed up the policy and legislative debate around this key challenge.
The companies gathered in ETNO called on EU decision-makers to prioritise cybersecurity especially in light of the rapid rise of the Internet of Things (IoT). According to recent ETNO-IDATE estimates, there will be a total of 1.78 billion IoT units in the EU28 by 2025, with the utilities, electronics and automotive sectors representing more than half of the total.
At the same time, ETNO called on the “ecosystem responsibility” principle to be applied across industries. While telcos have a long-standing experience in providing trusted security standards and in preventing data breaches, cybersecurity is a shared responsibility of all actors in the value-chain. With the industrial internet, IoT and 5G coming up, intense collaboration and co-dependence in the digital ecosystem will be the norm. For this reason, all players should fully play their part: service and network providers, hardware and software manufacturers, as well as public administrations and users.
The Cybersecurity Act and its proposal for an EU Cybersecurity Certification Framework will be crucial in this respect. ETNO supports a risk-based approach allowing companies the necessary flexibility to effectively identify and mitigate the risks.
Vulnerability to cybercrime pose a severe threat to society and economy, and it could make the public weary of beneficial and necessary digitisations in vital sectors such as energy, mobility, healthcare and government. Any EU policy on cybersecurity should be comprehensive and boost skills, education, training and awareness. Adequate skills and training, related to preventing cybersecurity incidents and mitigating their impacts, are key to achieving a strong cyber resilience. For this reason, the policy and regulatory actions taken by the EU Cybersecurity Package will be key to digitally-enabled growth and take-up of new, innovative services.
Cristina Vela, Chairperson of the ETNO Data Protection, Trust and Security Working Group, commented: “There is no European digital leadership without solid cybersecurity policies. The EU took important steps with the 2017 Package, it is now important to ensure all stakeholders share responsibility and that industry-led solutions are encouraged and valued”.
