EU policy on cyber-war gets examined

NEVER ONE to let the urgency of a potential cyber war speed up its processes, the EU has decided to deal with a European Commission report on cyber war by holding another inquiry.

The Home Affairs Committee wants to look into the recommendations made by the commission to ascertain if they are realistic and appropriate given current international standards and systems.

According to the committee the inquiry will focus on what the proper roles are for the EU and its Member States and how to make sure that there is a strong EU wide incident response capability.

It wants to make sure that any gaps in national policies for security of critical systems are bridged and every mountain is climbed, every "i" dotted and every "t" crossed.

The inquiry is apparently concerned that many of the critical systems involved are no longer operated by public bodies but privately.

The committee is calling for written submissions and the deadline for submitting evidence is 13 November.

No doubt after considering the issues and publishing a series of recommendations, it will, in the fullness of time, create another committee to look into those recommendations.

The committee wants to know the answers to the following questions. How vulnerable is the Internet to wide-spread technical failures? Is the Internet industry doing enough to ensure the resilience and stability of the Internet or is regulatory intervention unavoidable? Is the EU Commission's concern about cyber-attacks justified and should the military be more involved in protecting the Internet? Are Government operated Computer Emergency Response Teams an appropriate mechanism for dealing with Internet incidents? Is it sensible to develop European-centric approaches to response infrastructure or should there be more emphasis on a worldwide approach?

Answers on the back of a postcard please, to the European Union Committee, Home Affairs (Sub-Committee F). µ