Europe runs first continental cyberwar simulation

 

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By Stewart Mitchell

Posted on 5 Nov 2010 at 10:33

European security experts have started their first ever pan-continental cyber-defence simulation to see how the EU's infrastructure would stand up to a widespread attack.

In an operation dubbed "Cyber Europe 2010", the continent's experts, including the European Network Security Agency, will attempt to counter a series of simulated attacks on member-state networks to judge whether they could cope in a real-world situation.

The European head of digital agenda, Neelie Kroes, was at the UK's cyber-attack centre during the simulation exercise, highlighting the central role the UK is expected to play in the EU's cyber-defence strategy.

"This exercise to test Europe's preparedness against cyber threats is an important first step towards working together to combat potential online threats to essential infrastructure and ensuring citizens and businesses feel safe and secure online," Kroes said in a statement.

According to officials, the scenario for the exercise was ongoing network deterioration as internet connections between European countries were gradually lost or significantly reduced. At its worst, all major cross-border connections in Europe would be out of use.

Technicians were planning to attempt to reroute traffic to ensure critical infrastructure remained available and examine the communications channels between different states, including which departments in one country interact with which colleagues in other.

Security teams in the US have been running similar simulations for years, and this is the first sign that Europe is catching up.

It's only a first step however, and European bosses said the exercise would be followed by more complex scenarios, ultimately going from European to global level.