Nine European Union states are to create rapid response teams to counter cyber attacks within the framework of a new EU defence pact, project leader Lithuania announced on Thursday.

"Nine states have agreed to join. The goal is to create rotational EU cyber rapid response teams," Defence Minister Raimundas Karoblis told AFP.

He said his counterparts from Croatia, Estonia, the Netherlands and Romania will join him on Monday to sign the agreement in Luxembourg while Finland, France, Poland and Spain will join later this year.

Teams formed by pooling experts on a rotational basis will be ready to help national authorities to tackle cyber attacks, with the schedule to be approved next year, Karoblis said.

The minister said he expected the EU to allocate funds for software and other equipment, adding that talks with EU institutions will continue about legal and technical aspects.

The cyber force will be among the first joint projects launched under a landmark EU defence pact signed last year.

The EU's move to establish the Permanent Structured Cooperation on security and defence, known as PESCO, was driven in part by US President Donald Trump's questioning of NATO's relevance and Britain's departure from the bloc.

Lithuania, a lead nation of the cyber defence project, has boosted its cyber capabilities in recent years to tackle what it describes as "hostile cyber activities" from nearby Russia, mostly targeting state institutions and the energy sector.

Related Links
Cyberwar - Internet Security News - Systems and Policy Issues

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

US Senate votes to reimpose ban on China's ZTE, shares plunge
Washington (AFP) June 19, 2018
The US Senate defied President Donald Trump on Monday by voting to overrule his administration's deal with Chinese telecom firm ZTE and reimpose a ban on hi-tech chip sales to the company. Senators added an amendment targeting ZTE into a sweeping, must-pass national defense spending bill that cleared the chamber on an 85-10 vote. The company has been on life support since Washington said it had banned US companies from selling crucial hardware and software components to ZTE for seven years. ... read more