EU invites NATO to boost cyber alliance

LUXEMBOURG - Agence France-Presse

Reding has called on NATO to work more closely on cyber-crime. AP photo

The European Union’s top justice official invited NATO on May 18 to work more closely with the EU to combat cyber-crime and create a safe Internet environment where citizens’ rights and personal data are protected.

Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding told members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly that the EU was striving to establish the safest online area in the world and that the military Alliance has important technologies and know-how that would help bolster Internet security.

“The EU is open to work with all partners, and to team up with those that share its vision of a free and open Internet,” Reding said during the NATO PA Spring Session in Luxembourg, where some 250 parliamentarians are in attendance. “NATO should be one of those partners.” Cyber attacks have increased exponentially in recent years. Europol puts the annual value of the global cybercriminal economy at 1 trillion U.S. dollars. But Reding said cooperation between the European Union and NATO had not kept up with the rise in crime. The EU has introduced rules to protect the personal data of citizens and to create a true digital single market. The proposed Network Information Security Directive obliges the 27 EU member states to improve their levels of preparedness, for instance by creating emergency response teams to deal with attacks online.