Brussels to the Bay: Transatlantic Responses to Cybersecurity Challenges

Increasing waves of cybersecurity attacks and threats ranging from ransomware and phishing to data breaches and AI-enabled deepfakes are posing huge challenges to governments, private companies, and societies across the globe. In this context, building collective capabilities to deter, prepare, and respond to cyberattacks and working with like-minded partners to ensure international security and stability in cyberspace is fundamental.

The European Union tackles these threats in close coordination with its 27 Member States. Building on a substantive policy and legal cybersecurity framework, on April 18, 2023, the European Commission released a cybersecurity package including the EU Cyber Solidarity Act, further to enhance the preparedness, detection and response to cybersecurity incidents across the EU. It also launched a Cybersecurity Skills Academy to ensure a more coordinated approach towards closing the cybersecurity talent gap. The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, ENISA, is the Union's agency dedicated to achieving a high common level of cybersecurity across Europe.

The U.S. Administration recently released the National Cybersecurity Strategy to ensure a safe and secure digital ecosystem for all Americans. The EU and the United States face similar cyber threats and challenges, and are working closely together in the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council and through dedicated cyber dialogues to address them more effectively.

As cyber threats are becoming more widespread and intense, how can the EU and United States further improve preparedness, detection, and response? What role is there for governments, industry, and civil society to protect our critical assets? This transatlantic discussion touched on cybersecurity threats, policy responses, and opportunities for stronger transatlantic cooperation in the latest edition of the "Brussels to the Bay" series, organized by the EU Office in San Francisco.

EU

Meet the Speakers

• Lorena Boix Alonso, Director Digital Society, Trust and Cybersecurity at DG Connect, European Commission
• Liesyl Franz, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Cyberspace Security in the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy
• Julie Brill, Chief Privacy Officer and Corporate Vice President for Global Privacy and Regulatory Affairs, Microsoft
• Moderator: Akasemi Newsome, Associate Director of Global, International and Area Studies and of the Institute of European Studies at UC Berkeley