5 April 2017 — EU Commissioner Vera Jourova has announced that the EU-US Privacy Shield will be reviewed in September as part of an ongoing process to ensure that the agreements central tenents are maintained.

In Germany this week the Country’s Cybersecurity chief has announced that the German Army has suffered 284,000 separate cyber attacks in the first months of 2017… 

29 March 2017 — There has been a concerted effort in the EU this week to introduce legislation to increase the ability of law enforcement to access data stored on secure messaging sites like WhatsApp. EU Justice Commissioner Věra Jourová has suggested new measures will be drafted in June, whilst the UK Home Secretary has convened a board of technology experts to propose solutions after the terrorist behind last week’s Westminster attack was found to have used WhatsApp.

NATO have announced this week that they will invest €3billion in improving satellite bandwidth and cybersecurity across the alliance. Further details of the contracts will be announced at the April Defence Conference in Ottawa, Canada…

22 March 2017 — The Japanese and German Governments have agreed to cooperate on setting international standards for the development of the Internet of Things. The agreement follows a joint visit by Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the CeBIT technology fair in Hannover.

The President of Cyprus has launched a new collaborative project between the University of Cyprus and Imperial College London that will look at how to improve the cyber resiliency and efficiency of critical infrastructure…

15 March 2017 — The European Commission’s Digital Single Market Commissioner and Vice President Andrus Ansip has expressed confidence in the future of the EU-US Privacy Shield following a meeting with his US counterparts.

Germany have produced a draft law that will allow it to fine social media firms if they fail to act against hate speech on their platforms. The law would allow the government to fine firms up to €50 million… 

8 March 2017 — EU Commissioner Vera Jourova has this month stated that if the Trump administration puts the EU-US privacy shield in jeopardy the EU will put an end to the agreement.

In the UK, Facebook and BT have announced plans for a joint technology hub to develop next generation technology and to improve internet access...

1 March 2017 — The European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis has used a recent speech to call for a common approach to cybersecurity in the EU’s financial sector. A common approach would create cybersecurity consistency within the EU, an issue that has received growing attention in recent weeks.

Following concerns regarding the impact of President Trump’s executive order on digital privacy for EU citizens, the US Federal Trade Commission has assured the EU that they will continue to enforce the Privacy Shield agreement…

22 February 2017 — In the EU this week, data privacy watchdogs have been seeking assurances from the American Government that the data privacy of European citizens will continue to be respected. The concerns were raised following action by the White House to curb illegal immigration that included the exclusion of non- Americans from the Privacy Act.

Earlier this week, members of the London Internet Exchange members voted against a proposal that would have allowed the UK government to monitor the communications of users without informing the Exchange and its members…

15 February 2017 — In the UK this week, Ciaran Martin the head of the National Cyber Security Centre has stated that 188 serious cyber attacks have been identified in the past three months, with tens of thousands successfully blocked in the past year.

In France, President Hollande has requested a full briefing on the Government’s current activity to protect this years Presidential election. The request follows notable outbursts by Independent candidate Emmanuel Macron, who has accused Russia of interference...

8 February 2017 — The EU has moved closer to allowing cross-border portability for online subscriptions across the European Union. The move is seen as the first step towards the Digital Single Market by modernising and harmonising EU copyright rules.

A report from UK Members of Parliament has heavily criticized the UK’s approach to cybersecurity, citing an “Alphabet soup” worth of agencies for inconsistencies in the UK’s defences…

1 February 2017 — Following a cyber attack on senior politicians in the Czech Republic, the government has made public their suspicion of Nation-state involvement in the hack. The complex malware is believed to have affected the country for several months, with Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek hinting at Russia’s possible involvement.

Donald Trump has this week issued an executive order reducing the data privacy protections of foreigners...

25 January 2017 — The US Army has this week announced that the “Hack the Army” bug bounty scheme has revealed 118 vulnerabilities during its three week time span.

In China this week the Government has announced a new crack down on internet access, as attempts are made to shore up the “Great Firewall”. The new restrictions will target VPN services and other unauthorized connections that attempt to get around Chinese censors...

18 January 2017 — Security researchers have this week uncovered a hacking attack on the energy network of Ukraine. In a repeat of last year’s attack the country was left without power during its coldest month – December.

Elsewhere in Europe this week a new survey by job site Indeed has revealed that the Republic of Ireland posts the second most vacancies for cybersecurity roles in the world…

11 January 2017 — In Europe this week, Andrus Ansip Commission Vice President has stated that he will continue to hold the portfolio for the EU’s digital economy on a temporary basis. Mr Ansip has stated that there is no guarantee that Bulgaria will receive the digital economy portfolio once their new Commissioner is appointed.

The British Parliament has launched an inquiry into the UK’s cyber-security defences following concerns for the role of Russian hackers in American elections…

4 January 2017 — In the UK, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has completed its review of cyber risk management and found that there is no need to expand cyber security regulation further than the existing, General data protection regulation.

In other European cyber security news, the Czech National Cyber-Security Centre is to build a new headquarters and increase staff numbers by a factor of 10…

7 December 2016 — This week a new survey of global cyber security professionals has found that confidence has dropped to 70% from 82% in the same survey 12 months ago. The drop in confidence is believed to be due to decreasing ability to identify cyber threats globally.

Elsewhere the impact of increased investigative powers for the FBI have extended across the Atlantic as cloud storage companies storing US data abroad or UK data in the US can now be investigated…