The European Parliament has approved a set of rules, previously negotiated with the Council, to make the EU’s critical infrastructure more resilient. The legislation covers critical infrastructure sectors, including the digital infrastructure, creating stricter risk assessment rules and reporting for critical actors. In other words, ‘member states should adopt national resilience strategies, and cross-border communication should happen through designated single points of contact in each member state‘.
Critical infrastructure
Karspersky publishes its advanced threat predictions for 2023
Kaspersky Security, a major security firm, has recently published its advanced threat predictions for 2023, identifying email servers and satellites as major cyberattack targets in the year 2023. The report states that 2023 will be characterised by destructive ‘cyberattacks of unprecedented gravity’ against governments, key industry providers, and high-profile civilian infrastructures. Another point of concern is the safety of underwater cables and fiber distribution hubs against physical attacks.
Support for Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment Projects reiterated at G20 Summit in Bali
During the 2022 G20 Summit hosted in Bali, Indonesia, the US President Biden, Indonesian President Widodo, and European Commission President Von der Leyen co-hosted a meeting of a group of G20 leaders to ‘demonstrate their shared commitment to deepen engagement under the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) to accelerate investment in quality infrastructure in low and middle income countries around the world and strengthen the global economy’. PGII – formally launched at the G7 in June 2022 – aims to support inclusive and sustainable development and benefit the partner countries’ economic security and global supply chains, among other goals.
During the meeting, President Biden announced a series of new projects, including a Trilateral Support for Digital Infrastructure in the Pacific (United States, Australia, and Japan). The project aims at supporting digital projects that will improve access to digital services and strengthen their security in the Pacific region.
EU proposed actions to boost its cyber capabilities
The European Union has recently proposed a set of measures to help its armies move faster in times of conflict. The proposal aims to holistically strengthen the European infrastructure, focusing on cyberattacks and the protection of critical infrastructure, as well. The Action Plan on Military Mobility will help European armed forces to better respond to crises erupting at the EU’s external borders and beyond.