European Union Countries Increase Infrastructure Security Against Cyber Attack Threats

JAKARTA - The European Union's systemic risk watchdog (ESRB) said EU countries must strengthen their defenses against cyberattacks on their financial infrastructure, as war in Ukraine increases the risk of attacks by foreign powers.

The institute says it needs more action to protect financial infrastructure from cyber warfare, including the telecommunications networks and power grids they need.

Cyber risk and the volume of cyber attacks have increased since Russia invaded Ukraine. Improving cyber resilience is vitally important, now more than ever. We recently published a report to help advance macroprudential tools in this area.Read more https://t.co/D3hvAhuFVV pic.twitter.com/iao5tCb0Y0

— European Systemic Risk Board (@ESRBofficial) February 14, 2023

"Wars in Ukraine, wider geopolitical views, and the use of cyberattacks are increasing significantly, significantly increasing the environment of cyber threats," the ESRB said in the report.

The ESRB said that national authorities should start carrying out load tests and impact analysis, using tools developed by the ESRB to identify weaknesses and measure endurance against attacks.

"ESRB will consider the most effective operational policy tools in responding to cyber incidents on the system scale and identify deficiencies in operational and financial policy tools," he added.

The ESRB, which consists of the central bank and the EU's primary supervisor, mainly focuses on financial risks, but expands its analysis cinema to infrastructure used by banks and other institutions.

The European Union Commission in October proposed strengthening measures to protect critical infrastructure, with energy among its main regions focused following a sabotage incident on the Nord Stream gas pipeline a month earlier.

The incident put the government in a high alert condition and prompted several countries to ask the military to secure an increasingly vulnerable energy system.