EU Member States ill-prepared for cyber threats - This is the result of a recent ENISA study analysing the crisis management frameworks in the sectors of aviation, civil protection, border control, counter-terrorism and health and disease control. It is particularly important to focus not only on the mitigation of the effect of (a) cyber crisis, but also on the mitigation of the cyber incidents that caused it, the report states.
Don’t condemn online platforms - Under the lead of the UK government, eleven EU Member States have urged the EU Commission in a letter not to consider online platforms as a threat but as an opportunity. As platforms are already covered by regulation, the focus should lie on implementing existing laws “effectively and consistently”. For new regulation the eleven require “clear and compelling evidence of need”.
Whatsapp takes Apple vs. FBI to the next level - The Facebook-owned messaging service Whatsapp has added full end-to-end encryption for its 1 billion user-base across all communications (calls, message, photo, video, files, voice) and all devices. Not even employees would be able to read the data, implying that Whatsapp could not comply with any court order asking it to do so (see this article). In the meantime, the FBI has come under (but not given into) pressure to reveal how it cracked the San Bernardino iPhone. So far it is only confirmed that the method worked on that particular phone, but has reportedly been tested on devices used in other mostly drug-crime related cases.
EU-US Privacy Shield: DPA opinion expected - The Article 29 Working Party (WP), the grouping of the EU data protection authorities (DPA) is expected to adopt its (non-binding) opinion at the plenary meeting on 12-13 April. The WP wants guarantees that Europeans’ privacy rights are respected and that they have access to judicial redress. Both commercial and national security aspects will also weigh in.
Commission pushes back DSM announcement, again - A package of communications planned to be released on 11 April have now been pushed back to April 18. The package concerns the digitisation of European industry, ICT standards and the EU Cloud initiative (s.a. leaked versions in March EU Policy Update).
EC3 kicks off cyber awareness campaign on Twitter - With one “cyber card” a day Europol’s cybercrime centre aims to inform the public about the different cybercrimes circulating on the net. “Malware” and “Trojans” were among the first items to be explained.
US Copyright Office analyses need for DMCA reform - Until 1 April, the US Copyright Office gathered public input on the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). Its notice and take down provisions grant limited liability to hosts for online content. Fair use exemptions allow users to make limited use of protected material. Whereas some interest groups (s.a.call by 400 artists) lobby for copyright to be strengthened, others call for penalties for copyright owners who abuse the system by sending thousands of automated takedown notices.
EU concerned about dark-web drug market - The 2016 EU Drug Markets Report suggests an ever increasing use of the Internet by drug dealers, especially of the so-called dark net. The EU’s drug strategy therefore aims a reducing the supply of illicit drugs, among other things, through “effective intelligence-led law enforcement and increased intelligence sharing”. Coordination should run through Europol.
