NATIONAL CYBERSECURITY STRATEGIES IN MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Abstract

Searching for solutions to the problems related to cybersecurity which occurred in the early 1990s, with their steadily increasing negative effects, has long gone beyond the borders of a single science and hence requires a complex interdisciplinary approach. The new challenges facing the international community and the information and communication technologies cross the national borders and the individual countries fail to deal independently and effectively with the new threats against cybersecurity only by policies at national level aiming at ensuring a high level of protection of its citizens and the networks of state power. The need for collective efforts to protect cyberspace has increased significantly and at present the European Union is one of the most influential players in the field of international policies pertaining to cybersecurity. Most often cybersecurity refers to: Ø measures for protecting information techno logies; Ø the included within those measures information, ongoing processes and the related physical and virtual elements (which, taken together, comprise cyber space); Ø the level of protection resulting from the implementation of those measures. Virtually all elements in cyberspace are at risk as their interconnection renders it difficult to determine the scope and framework of cybersecurity. One of the necessary conditions for the creation and development of an EU policy on cybersecurity is an understanding of what the term “cybersecurity” denotes. Achieving this can be difficult for several reasons. Some the main challenges and difficulties include its wide range and multiple aspects that influence the different spheres of social relations between EU citizens and between the Member States of the European Union. The scientific research and analysis of the authors of this publication are focused in this direction.