EU and United States enhance cooperation on cybersecurity

The EU and the United States took an important step to further strengthen their mutual cyber resilience and foster a secure global cyberspace. During his visit to Washington D.C., Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market issued a joint statement with Alejandro N. Mayorkas, United States Secretary of Homeland Security, recalling the importance of cooperation between like-minded partners to address a constantly changing cyber threat landscape. They discussed the EU-US Joint Cyber Safe Products Action Plan, a deliverable of the EU-US Summit in October 2023, which outlines the steps for further collaboration between the Commission and relevant US regulatory agencies to prepare the ground to explore mutual recognition on cybersecurity requirements on Internet of Things (IoT) hardware and software consumer products. The Action Plan builds on the EU Cyber Resilience Act framework and the proposed US cybersecurity labelling programme Cyber Trust Mark Act.

The two sides also agreed to advance cooperation in the fields of critical infrastructure protection, crisis management, software security, post quantum cryptography and cybersecurity of artificial intelligence under the EU-US cyber dialogue. Furthermore, the EU announced that it would join the US-led global Counter Ransomware Initiative policy statement, committing the EU and its 27 Member States government authorities to not pay ransom to cyber criminals.

Commissioner Thierry Breton concluded: “Together with our American partners, we are acting with speed and ambition to counter the growing threat from malicious cyber actors on all fronts. Firstly, with the Joint Cyber Safe Product Action Plan in place, we will now work concretely together to foster a transatlantic market for trusted digital products and promote our high cybersecurity standards globally. Furthermore, we make a firm commitment that neither the EU institutions, bodies and agencies, nor our Member States’ national government authorities, will pay ransom to such cyber criminals.”