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Cyber security in the EU: How can we protect our digital future?

The digital age has brought with it many unprecedented issues regarding data protection and fundamental freedoms. Cyber security has since become a priority for the European Union, who strive to help Member States better protect their citizens online.

Faced with the threats of cybercrime, fake news, and outsider interference, the EU’s Cybersecurity Strategy seeks to strengthen its role as a leader on international standards in cyberspace.

Issues of cyber security undoubtedly affect young people across Europe on a daily basis, having grown up in an increasingly digital society where almost everything is accessible online.

So, what do you think? Is Europe’s digital future at risk?

  • How can the European Parliament help to shape the EU’s digital future for the better?
  • How can the EU build resilience to disinformation and cyber-attacks?
  • Can the internet pose a threat to democracy across EU Member States?

 

Euroscola Session
Cyber security

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What people think

32 comments on Cyber security in the EU: How can we protect our digital future?
Mohammed Cano Berazi  • 18 March 2021

Um es einfach und übersichtlich zu halten sollte es auf Nationaler Ebene einen sicheren Daten Speicher zuhaben um es Angreifen zu erschweren an Daten zukommen. Man sollte es einem geschlossenen Netzwerk halten welches nur von Behörden Server zureichen ist . Außerdem soll man wissen können wer auf welche Daten zugegriffen hat um Datenmissbrauch entgegen zukommen.

Mojde Hussen  • 29 March 2021

I think that if we want a great result, we have to start with small steps. Children under 13 shouldn't access the web or even the social media but now, as you can see, they use it even more than us. If we can't prevent children from using social media, how can we prevent criminals from doing it?

Martina  • 30 March 2021

-what are the most efficient ways to defend ourselves against a hacker?
-there are antivirus that allow, even the best hacker, not to be able to enter our technological devices?

Sabrina Terio  • 08 April 2021

I would like to ask who is generating the most exceptions to security policies for social media and why?

Sofia Cuoghi  • 08 April 2021

In futuro, dato lo scarso sviluppo informatico in Italia, come in tutta Europa, potrebbero verificarsi degli attacchi/reati informatici che ora come ora non siamo in grado di gestire adeguatamente, anche per la mancanza di leggi che puniscono i malintenzionati e tutelano gli utenti anche nella vita di tutti i giorni, ad esempio la pubblicazione di foto senza il proprio consenso.
È anche vero che è inutile creare nuove normative se non sono presenti sistemi/programmi informatici adeguati al riconoscimento dei reati.
Perciò una soluzione possibile, potrebbe essere un investimento economico sulla ricerca informatica e sulla creazione di un’istituzione universitaria che vada a formare figure professionali specifiche del settore.

Alina Valega  • 12 April 2021

My questions are

- How many cyber attacks do you have a day and an hour?
- How is your crisis plan structured in case of an attack?
- Do you work with whites or red hats?
- How many locations do you have that control computer security and are placed in several cities in Europe?
- What digital projects for the new generations do you have in mind?

Enrique  • 13 April 2021

Questions about cybersecurity
What is cybersecurity ?
Do we have the information we need to oversee cyber risks?
Do we have cyber insurance?
How effective is our cybersecurity strategy at addressing business risks?
What are the major problems of cyber security?
How cyber attacks can be reduced?

Enrique  • 13 April 2021

Questions
What are the major problems of cyber security?
What is the biggest threat to cyber security?
What are the types of cyber attacks?
Who is the No 1 hacker in world?
What are some cybersecurity techniques?

Angelina Kostadinova  • 14 April 2021

Does the fact that kids and teens in the EU spend an increasing amount of time on the internet make it easier for human traffickers to reach and fool them and what can we do to prevent it?

Le fait que les enfants et les adolescents de l'UE passent de plus en plus de temps sur Internet permet-il aux trafiquants d'êtres humains de les atteindre et de les tromper plus facilement et que pouvons-nous faire pour les empêcher?

This is a question that has been bothering me for a very long time. I reckon that the first step of finding a solution is educating the children and teens (especially the girls as they are more heavily targeted) about the dangers of the different online sites and meeting strangers on the internet. By keeping this topic a taboo because it is ''too heavy'' we are letting our children be ignorant about the things that can happen to them if they are not careful in the online space. Talking openly about the problem and having discussions about it is the best thing we can do.

Sam Delia  • 14 April 2021

1. What can the EU do to limit the spread of fake news, both at a local stage for each member country as well as internationally?
2. How can we as EU youths make sure that our data is not being processed and fed to large media companies by our governments?
3. If the new proposed laws such as the digital services act and the digital markets act are not passed, what will the EU do to maintain our protection?
4. Is there a plan for a program to be designed for youths to be thought about how they can protect their digital rights and about what we should do.
5. Is there a plan to have set up a European computer security incident response team?
6. How can the EU help fight cybercrime in each member state? Is there a plan in place to help each member state?

Gabriela  • 15 April 2021

In the 21st century, social networks are the means of mass communication, how are teenagers personal data protected? And how to deal with the spread of false information?

Genesini Asia  • 15 April 2021

Will the privacy of people online lack more and more throughout the years?
What's the purpose of online mass surveillance?
Do you think this kind of surveillance affects people negatively or positively?
Do you think the online mass surveillance is too intrusive? What less intrusive alternatives are available?
If surveillance could not be avoided, how could society b e empowered to build capacities to deal with its consequences?

Catalina  • 15 April 2021

There are non-technical ways to stop fake news, or at least to keep people from believing it.
Citizens must become aware that the internet is a very different environment from television and newspapers, there are no editors and there are no controllers. Users must be vigilant and careful not to fall into any of the fake news that circulate, since on the internet every day is April 1st.
We have devised some steps to follow to recognize Fake News: the first step is to verify that the site is reliable; the second point is to pay attention to fake photos, verifying that they have not been modified with Photoshop and using Google's reverse search; the third point is to look for other signs, for example to check the words generally highlighted in different colors that lead to other sites; finally, once the fake news has been recognized, the fifth step is to not share it and report it.
Furthermore, projects such as the one supported by the Mediaset networks entitled "Io non la bevo'' must be promoted. Who has created a website where there are 10 fundamental rules to recognize a fake news
Experts participating in this project could raise students' awareness of the subject by going from school to school.

QUESTIONS:
1) What advice would you give us to eliminate the phenomenon of fake news?
2) Could software be used in order to recognize fake news?
3) What could be the consequences of fake news?

Miguel McCarthy  • 15 April 2021

Since the start of the pandemic and even before, the use of online platforms has greatly risen and this has led to a number of benefits to consumers and online stores. However, that positivity has also brought with it a set of drawbacks to our digital infrastructure. Having said that, in my opinion, I believe that the institutions of the European Union are obliged to continuously protect online users from current and emerging online threats. Will the European Union have the proper resources and willpower to enact and amend legislation of this sort?

Neil Mifsud  • 15 April 2021

More awareness how people can report any crime on social media. Find different ways how people can report any cyber crime locally and internationally. People don't know what the penalties and consequences are when they done cyber crime.

Saida Chiaburu  • 15 April 2021

We are used to put our data everywhere but we’re not really sure if our information is safe enough. 
How can the data acquired from social networks be used by the supplier?
What data can you trust those services with more confidence (assuming a secure provider)?

Nick  • 15 April 2021

Hello there I'm nick , I am from Greece and recently I heard about cyber security so i think that's a good day to talk about this daily problem . SO First of all I think that we have to check the validation of the person or the company that send us a link of something so we have to be carefully about that because Hackers are making fake link that called phising link in order to take our personal information like a password of social media or Epsecialy bank account . So we have to be carefully. Also we have to know with who are we keeping in touch in digital world , I mean Instagram because is a just platform that we can talk with everyone of every place in earth so we have to be carefull .One more reason is our privacy that it's important piece of our life because we're living in 21th sentury and I regard that we have to protect it with every way where we can do this !!!!!

Martina  • 15 April 2021

despite cybersecurity, the network continues to receive dangerous attacks, so my question is:
is the network designed to be safe?

Lucía Madre María Rosa Molas Zaragoza  • 15 April 2021

I am completely convinced that cybersecurity represents one of the major problems among people nowadays. Depending on the age the user is, the problem could encompass from children to old population. In the case of children, who might not be concious of the danger and damage internet can provoke, it’s so easy to them to be victims of different types of cyber serious problems, such as cyberbullying. Nevertheless, dispite the fact that adults might not suffer cyber problems as cyberbullyi ng is, they can get damaged because of other cybersecurity problems, as can be an identity theft. We should know how to use internet and nets in the proper way if we dont want to suffer this types of issues. In my opinion, cybereducation should be included in the school curricular framework. This could help us, since we are kids, to be careful when we use internet.

Leon Bartolo  • 15 April 2021

Further to the advancements in deepfake technology and the wider use of this technology which is easily accessible by purchasing apps for a minimal price; how are European Citizens going to distinguish between deepfake technology and real news?
What is the EU doing in this regard? Misinformation can topple governments and destroy economies.

In view of the losses experienced by thousands of individuals entering into CFD trading (contract for differences) through advertisements targeting youths. When is the EU going to follow the footsteps of the US to ban completely these practices and hard block websites at EU level to protect its citizens?

Vittoria  • 16 April 2021

Recently, numerous online platforms have repeatedly been subjected to hacker attacks which can be a great danger, as they put the digital identity of users and personal data at risk.
Not only hacker attacks are an issue, but also how these online platforms can be circumvented with ease.

Millions of minors, mostly children between the ages of 10-14, have the opportunity to access these platforms, social networks and sites; however we believe that they should be accessible only to people who have reached an adequate age.

Putting these public online platforms in the hands of inexperienced young people – teenagers, nowadays even children – could be extremely dangerous, since it might be too early for younger users to deal with them in a safe manner.

In view of the ease in circumventing the identification systems implemented by these digital platforms, we believe that we could take advantage of the cookies that are already in place to obtain information about users, but in this case for a higher purpose: the EU should create specific cookies to verify the age of those who sign up to Internet platforms and prohibit it to children under 13, in accordance to European law.

Alessandro Boella  • 16 April 2021

The evolution that communication has undergone in the last thirty years is evident and has brought many opportunities for both economic and intellectual enrichment. However, although the Net is considered an indispensable tool of everyday life, it turns out to be a dark place full of pitfalls, in which it is extremely easy to get lost.
The inexperienced Internet user, dealing with the massive amount of multimedia content of all kinds, collides with a mountain that seems impassable to him. Unrestricted personal data sharing; fictitious individuals who can contact anyone without being discovered; pictures, videos, pieces of information that travel on any device without anyone being able to control them. Today, young people understand these issues very well. They are ordinary boys and girls, who recognize in the seven year-old cousin that Internet user who has lost his mind in the most dangerous sea he could ever sail. The users of the new digital services are more and more young. Paradoxically, as the age decreases, the risks these young people have to struggle with are increasing. It is therefore necessary to establish a new role: the digital teacher. In fact, letting kids swim in the vast ocean of the Internet without having explained to them how to do it, means letting them enter a terribly dangerous world without any protection.
This social role could be played by those who have experienced these dangers directly. The generation that has grown with the new communication tools could become the tutor of the generation that is still growing with these technologies. The school, the social meeting point par excellence, must be the promoter of this project of generational exchange, so that the citizens of the future can effectively protect themselves against the dangers of the digital world.
But the productive exchange can also take place between those who know these technologies because they were born under their blessed star and those who, before two decades ago, had never heard of them. It is undeniable how difficult it is for many of the previous generations to relate to new media. In this regard, a solution could be to create special European training television programmes which will make it clear to previous and subsequent generations that it is important to surf the Internet safely and correctly.

Felix Rahiala  • 22 April 2021

There should be EU-level legislation about how well companies must be prepared for cyber security attacks.

In Finland, last year psychotherapy center Vastaamo's data breach was exposed. Patient information of about 33 000 customers were stolen. This horrific incident raised a lot of conversation about cyber security and identity thefts. Different kinds of data breaches are becoming more and more common in the world.

Every company's information should be protected, and it should be mandatory to protect them well. EU should act and start preparing legislation, if the preparations haven't started yet.

Pietro Pessina  • 17 November 2021

Everyone can play his part, the change has to start from us

Asia Franciszka Triachini  • 17 November 2021

We should all do our part

4C ASELLI Cremona  • 17 November 2021

The European Parliament should take the most important decisions and should impose them equally for all Member States

Clement  • 13 December 2021
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We can protect our digital future with the restriction or the deletion of the dark web or illegal website

Thibault
 • 13 December 2021
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Alternatives are possible to GAFA who sell user data to the highest bidder, it is necessary to allow better access to these alternatives to develop them and better protect our data.

Cécile  • 14 December 2021
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The creation of Internet has been granted a variety of successes, and is an Amazon tool to provide communication between all citizens of the world. Internet will be one of, if not the main, new medium that will help the nations of the world to create a more united European Union.
Yet, the Internet is also a source of cyber criminality, and lacks in my opinion of security and surveillance concerning the Dark Web, and all the legal transactions that are implemented throughout the day without any consequences.
Moreover, in my opinion, the powerful GAFAM have taken a charge at control over the Internet over the years, and could be potential, also a purpose which is more than enemies. That is why I think that the EU should take action to ensure their security, as well as the security of their citizens.

Cécile  • 14 December 2021

The Internet will be one of the major, if not the main, tool that will ensure a more united EU, with a great communication and democracy among its citizens.
It holds a great variety of opinions, and contains very private information concerning its users, which needs to be protected and preserved from threats.
Yet, the Internet is also a place where lies the Dark Web, where hackings are happening everyday, and where powerful countries are collecting user's data to use them to their advantage.
That is why, in my opinion, the EU should take actions to protect further the personal data of their citizens. For example, the EU could reinforce their surveillance of the GAFAM, that could reveal being great allies, but also deadly ennemies.
Furthermore, in my opinion, the EU should vote laws in order to eradicate the Dark Web, and its illegal transactions that could lead to much deadlier consequences.

Maja  • 23 March 2022
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We believe that there should be more information in cyberattacks and how it affects businesses/individuals and the consequences it has for the offender, in order to gain a better understanding.
In disinformation, we believe that there should be mandatory apps where it is easy to be source critical. Where current news comes up and where it comes to know whether it is disinformation or true, mostly in the news of young people.

Samira  • 23 March 2022
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Our idea is that digital media should be legitimised in order to prevent the easy dissemination of false information/identities.

Any thoughts on this idea?

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