EC: Stronger protection needed for electronic networks

Vital electronic networks need to be better protected to prevent the risk of a domino effect that could result in a major communications "collapse", says the European Commission (EC).

As networks become increasingly interconnected and interdependent, the result of a failure or criminal attack on a single network or sub-system can spread more widely and faster than ever before.

Communication and information infrastructures are the nervous system of our modern society. As our dependency on them grows, we need to do all we can to safeguard such networks.

-- Viviane Reding, commissioner for information society and media, EC

As a result the EC wants protective measures to be put in place to ensure that critical services and infrastructure are not vulnerable to such failures - and that there can be no domino effect which it warns "might result in a major technological collapse of communications".

European commissioner for information society and media, Viviane Reding, said in a statement: "Communication and information infrastructures are the nervous system of our modern society. As our dependency on them grows, we need to do all we can to safeguard such networks."

The EC now wants feedback on how best to safeguard electronic networks against disruption from attack or natural hazards.

A report carried out by the EC on the reliability and the robustness of electronic communication networks has come up with a number of recommendations for the public and private sector.

These include emergency exercises and drills, the signing of mutual aid agreements between operators and service providers, and improving information sharing.