The European Union is going to set up a “cyber shield”

Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, made the creation of a European « cyber shield » official on April 4, 2023 (the day before he spoke at the FIC). First announced several months ago, it is expected to be set up later this year and to be operational by early 2024. Its main goal is to « better detect attacks in advance » in the European Union.

Indeed, as Thierry Breton reminds us, « it can take up to 190 days between the start of the spread of malware and the launch of an attack« . Therefore, the European Commission will pilot the construction of five to six SoCs using supercomputers and AI to detect malicious behaviour.

This « cyber shield » will require a one-billion-euro investment, of which two-thirds will be provided by the European Union, and the rest by the Member States. « Seventeen Member States have already responded to the call, » explains Thierry Breton, without revealing which ones.

This project will also optimize information sharing and collaboration between States. « Following the same logic as the European Civil Protection in case of disasters, we must now adopt a system of mutual assistance, » says the European Commissioner.

A « European cyber reserve » will also be set up. Composed of « several thousand volunteers, professionals working in conjunction with the authorities and national forces, » this reserve will be able to be mobilized in the event of a cyber-attack. Finally, the European Union will create a cyber training center to help address the shortage of manpower in the sector.