European Cybersecurity Competence Centre and Network

As 2023 draws to a close, it is the right time to look back on what the ECCC, the Centre, has achieved over the last 12 months.

To strengthen EU's solidarity and capacities to detect, prepare for and respond to cybersecurity threats and incidents, member states’ representatives (Coreper) reached a common position on the so-called 'cyber solidarity act' on 20 December.

On 14 December, the European Union (EU) and United Kingdom (UK) held their first Cyber Dialogue in Brussels. Underlining the need to advance an open, free, stable and secure cyberspace respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, the EU and UK presented their latest developments on a range of cyber policy issues as set out under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).

The 9th EU-U.S. Cyber Dialogue took place in Brussels on 6-7 December. The EU and the U.S. discussed their shared commitment to a resilient cybersecurity partnership; an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable Internet; and stability in cyberspace.

On 1 December, the European Parliament and the Council reached a political agreement on the Cyber Resilience Act, proposed by the Commission in September 2022.

On 24 November, the EU and Canada strengthened their relationship as strategic and like-minded partners in the digital field.

To evaluate and strengthen current working methods ahead of the 2024 elections, EU institutions organised a cybersecurity exercise on 21 November. National and EU partners tested their crisis plans and possible responses to potential cybersecurity incidents affecting the European elections.

On 13 November, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) formalised a Working Arrangement with Ukraine counterparts focused around capacity-building, best practices exchange and boosting situational awareness.

Eyvör has been designated as the national coordination centre in Iceland for cybersecurity in research, education, and innovation.

The Belgian Anti-Phishing Shield (BAPS) is a Centre for Cyber Security Belgium (CCB) initiative. This is a system that warns the Internet user in the event of browsing on fraudulent or malicious websites.

The Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium is launching a new initiative for companies and organisations in Belgium.

One of the missions of the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB) is to inform and raise awareness among all internet users. One way the CCB does this is by conducting an annual awareness campaign.

The European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC) and the Women4Cyber (W4C) Foundation cooperated on 12 December to host an empowering webinar, drawing attention to the importance of gender diversity and inclusivity in the cybersecurity industry.

The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA)'s new report on the Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks threat landscape, published on 6 December, finds 66% of DoS attacks are politically motivated.

On 21 November, the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC) successfully hosted its second edition of the ECCC Access-2-Finance Matchmaking events in Rennes.

The new report of the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), published on 16 November, confirms investment continues to grow but stresses the importance of vulnerability management.

On 14 December, the Commission adopted the amendment of the Digital Europe work programmes for 2024, assigning €762.7 million in funding for digital solutions to benefit citizens, public administrations, and businesses.

The Commission has published a series of new calls for proposals for the Digital Europe Programme. A dedicated budget of €84 million is available for activities supporting Security Operation Centres with novel applications of AI and other enabling technologies, for the implementation of cybersecurity EU legislation such as the Cyber Resilience Act, as well as for the European transition to post-quantum cryptography.

On 21 November, the European Commission opened a new set of calls for proposals under the 2023-2024 Work Programmes of the Digital Europe Programme with a focus on advanced digital skills, including a call on the cybersecurity skills academy.

The projects will receive funding to deploy safe, secure, and sustainable high-performance 5G and digital backbone infrastructure, for a total funding amount of up to €260 million.

Want to know more about what it means to be a Cybersecurity Skills Academy Pledge? Check out the interviews from ISACA of the beneficiaries of the initiative about their progress made in the first 6 months and the efforts to address the cybersecurity skills gap in the European Union.

As part of the launch of a new flagship cybersecurity hub in Màlaga, Google announced a $10 million cybersecurity skilling programme through Google.org, in partnership with the European Cyber Conflict Research Incubator.

The event is dedicated to explore and stimulate the dynamic interplay between cutting-edge research in digital technologies under Horizon Europe and the impactful digitalization initiatives within the Digital Europe Programme.

The Forum InCyber Europe will take place from 26 until 28 March 2024 in Lille, France.

The 2024 Cyber Threat Intelligence Conference will take place from 15 until 17 April 2024 in Berlin, Germany.

The Nordic IT Security Forum will take place on 23 May 2024 in Stockholm, Sweden.

SPHERE24 will take place from 28 until 29 May 2024 in Helsinki, Finland.

ENISA, European Commission and Karlstad University will organise the Annual Privacy Forum (APF) 2024 in Karlstad, Sweden.