The EU cybersecurity agency ENISA will receive a makeover in September when the European Commission renews its mandate amid a whirlwind of new cybersecurity measures. The director of the Athens-based agency has been requesting a larger budget to deal with the rise in attacks on internet-connected devices. IT security experts from Positive Technologies, AlienVault and ESET commented below.
Alex Mathews, Lead Security Evangelist at Positive Technologies:
“As last weekend’s global attacks demonstrated, cybersecurity is fast becoming the most pressing problem of our age. It has gone beyond becoming a problem of people having their personal details stolen, and is impacting people’s lives in previously unimagined ways.
“As has been proven time and again, proactive intelligence sharing and cross-border collaboration is absolutely crucial in countering this threat, it aids with a swift response and provides enforcement with teeth. As more and more everyday objects become interconnected, the need for this will only increase. It a global issue that needs to be mitigated against, 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The more focus and resources the area receives, the safer people and businesses will be.”
Javvad Malik, Security Advocate at AlienVault:
“While it may not be possible to come up with a definitive answer to addressing the cyber-security challenges faced today, ENISA definitely is a step in the right direction where we need more resources, not less. By building a community that spans across every EU country, it can be well-positioned to help identify and take action against threats, particularly for nations with fewer resources.
“However, it is important to remember that today’s cyber threats aren’t restricted by geography, so while ENISA is great for Europe, it would be ideal to see similar efforts replicated across the globe. The more the security community can share threat information freely and quickly to identify the methods, tools, and infrastructure used by attackers, the better placed companies and nations can defend themselves.”
Mark James, IT Security Specialist at ESET:
“Anything that helps us target cybercriminal activity with a view to eradicate or slow it down has the thumbs up from me. And seriously however small it may seem it has to be a good thing, right?
“We are not going to win the war overnight; however, we need solid intelligence, a good covering of knowledge and understanding as well as strong solid experience in the fields that need it. We also need to work together and this is not going to happen, unless everyone does it. Physical criminals target the weak spots and cyber criminals are no different. Their potential targets may include individuals, companies or even countries. In most aspects of life working together gets results as you pool resources, knowledge, experience and manpower to form a sizeable force. It’s the only way forward.
“Any business regardless of size can benefit from help. Quite often it’s not clear where that help may be and thus goes unused. Providing good solid advice and resources is great, but a good clear understanding of what it is and where it’s available from should also be an important factor.”
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