Cybersecurity in European Union Economies

Abstract

As is the case of most industrialized countries, cyber-attacks have been growing rapidly in EU economies. The U.K.’s 2010 National Security Strategy rated cyber- attacks as a “Tier 1” threat and one of the four highest-priority risks facing the U.K. 90% of German companies reported that they experienced cyber-attacks during the first 10 months of 2014 (dw.de 2014). An underlying problem is that EU-based firms suffer from a low level of CS preparedness and defense mechanisms. A survey of office workers in the U.K., France and Germany revealed that 77% of the respondent lacked confidence that their organizations complied with current data protection laws. About half of the respondents said that their organizations lacked a data protection policy, or had not told their employees about such policy (computerweekly.com 2014). One of the most relevant aspects of the EU’s CS strategy concerns the 1995 Data Protection Directive, which has been the major legislative instrument for handling consumer data in its members.Akey strength of the EU approach is its reliance on a principle-based framework that provides a model for good practice. A further benefit concerns the Directive’s technology-neutral principle. The Directive pro- vided flexibility for EU members to vary the requirements to suit their local circumstances. The Directive has also helped increase public awareness of data protection. Since