Avoid Tech Regulation that Opens the Door For Russian Cyberattacks

It's not just Russian tanks and missiles that threaten Ukraine and the Western alliance.  It's Russian cyberattacks.

Summary:

For the past decade and a half, cyberattacks have been part and parcel of Russia’s arsenal of hybrid warfare, not only against Ukraine but against the entire West, from foreign ministries, parliaments, to think tanks, all the way to WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency.  The stakes are enormous. Cyberattacks damage economies, paralyze governments, and endanger human lives.  The EU’s Strategic Compass highlights the dangers of cyberattacks, disinformation, and malign influence.

Democracies must resist and make cybersecurity a central element of transatlantic security cooperation. This goes far beyond building NATO cyber centers of excellence such as in Tallinn. It encompasses general tech regulation. What needs to happen now is the next logical step: a concerted effort at ‘security proofing’ not only products and services, but also in EU legislation.  

This is where the current state of EU regulation is wanting.  The obligation to make digital infrastructure accessible to all actors, in the name of non-discrimination will, if nothing changes, include the malevolent actors from Europe’s proven cyber adversaries.  Browser companies should be able to ‘discriminate’ against criminals and hostile state actors – that’s in everybody’s interest.  

There is considerable room for improvement in the way the US and the EU handle cybersecurity. Instead of playing up their differences in tech regulation, Europe and US must seek common ground, placing security and defense of democracy at the center of our efforts. 

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