The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) warned this Tuesday that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasing the risks of cyberattacks in Europe, by facilitating the detection and exploitation of computer vulnerabilities, in a context where threats remain high despite improvements in Member States' protection capabilities.
This is according to the biennial report on the state of cybersecurity in the European Union, which confirms that the development of these tools is multiplying both defensive and offensive capabilities, by accelerating the discovery of security flaws and their subsequent exploitation.
ENISA Executive Director, Juhan Lepassaar, stated in remarks sent to the press that "recent advances in the most advanced Artificial Intelligence models, as well as cyber incidents in cooling systems across the EU, highlight operational shortcomings and the need for timely information exchange and coordination."
The agency also warns that this technology can exacerbate preparedness differences between critical sectors, especially in those that rely on old computer systems or that find it more difficult to adapt their infrastructures to the pace of threat evolution.
Incidents in cooling systems, an example of operational shortcomings
ENISA has focused on recent attacks against European supermarket cooling systems, an episode that, in the agency's opinion, has highlighted "shortcomings" in response capacity and coordination among Member States.
In that context, Lepassaar argued that it is necessary to "strengthen shared situational awareness" across the European Union and improve the coordination of security policies in critical sectors, considering that Europe must update its strategies to face an "increasingly complex" threat landscape.
The agency also emphasized the need to improve the preparedness of critical infrastructures, reduce technological dependencies and risks associated with supply chains, and promote the training of specialized professionals to respond to a threat that is growing in complexity.
Geopolitical tensions and the weight of hacktivism
The report also highlights the weight of geopolitical tensions, which continue to condition cyber activity, as well as the persistence of attacks motivated by economic interests, which continue to have a "considerable impact" on the European Union as a whole.
As ENISA recalls, "ideology is the main driver of cyber incidents" and hacker groups, known as 'hacktivists', "continue to dominate the volume of attacks."
Cybersecurity maturity in the EU, at 71.53 points out of 100
On the other hand, the agency places the average maturity level of the cybersecurity capabilities of the Member States at 71.53 points out of 100, according to an index developed to evaluate their resources and their preparation against cyber threats.
ENISA points out that most countries have reached a "considerable" level of maturity, although differences persist between them. In the breakdown of the report, computer security incident response teams obtain 54.76 points, while cybersecurity training in primary and secondary education reaches 55.44 points.
In contrast, risk management in supply chains registers 89.91 points, one of the areas in which the Twenty-Seven show greater progress, as explained by the agency.
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