EU should redouble efforts against cyber threats: commissioner

SOFIA, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) needed to redouble efforts, invest more money and improve coordination to fight cyber threats more effectively, the European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel said here on Monday.

Still 80 percent of European companies have said they did not know whether they were subject to a cyber attack last year, Gabriel said at the conference "cybersecurity in the EU: How to Respond to Ever-Growing Threats?".

Still, only 44 percent of Europeans had basic digital skills, including cyber-hygiene skills, Gabriel said.

Meanwhile, Europe lacked 300,000 cyber experts, she said.

"This conference has a very clear message: to redouble our efforts to fight cyber threats, to work together, to cooperate, to improve coordination, to seek and find common European solutions," Gabriel said.

It was an unquestionable fact that there was no EU member state capable of dealing with the cyber security challenges alone, Gabriel said.

She stressed that two things would be needed in the future: adequate funding and even better coordination.

She mentioned funding first, because Europe lagged behind in its cyber security investments, Gabriel said. "The United States invests over 10 times more," Gabriel said.

On the other hand, in order to improve coordination, the creation of a European cybersecurity competence center based in Brussels and a European network of national cybersecurity centers has been proposed, Gabriel said.

This European center would more efficiently manage European funding in this area and ensure a better pooling of resources and expertise "to be more cyber-safe," she added. Enditem