text: The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) organised two small-scale cyber security exercises on 30th May and 6th June.
  The exercises were held to familiarise participants with cross-border cooperation procedures and mechanisms for dealing with large-scale cyber crises in Europe.
  Countries taking part were: Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Malta and Iceland (30th May); and Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain (6th June).
  Providing support to Member States in improving response capabilities and cross-border coordination and cooperation is a part of ENISA's ongoing effort to heighten resilience and critical information infrastructure protection in the EU.
  In the context of its i2010 Program, the European Commission issued a strategy for a secure information society highlighting the importance of dialog, partnership and empowerment.
  The policy debates paved the way for the CIIP Communication in 2009 "Protecting Europe from Large Scale Cyber-Attacks and Disruptions: Enhancing Preparedness, Security and Resilience".
  Among the actions proposed in this communication are steps to develop principles and guidelines for Internet resilience and conduct pan-European exercises on large-scale network security incidents and prepare a framework and a roadmap for European participation in global exercises.
  The CIIP communication acknowledged that simulating incidents and running exercises to test response capabilities are strategic in improving the overall security and resilience of Critical Information Infrastructures.
  The European Commission invited Member States to develop national contingency plans and organise regular exercises for large scale network security incidents response and disaster recovery, as a step towards closer pan-European coordination.
  ENISA has engaged in being a facilitator for Member States by supporting the exchange of good practices in this area.
  In 2009, ENISA published a 'Good Practice Guide on National Exercises' with the aim to assist European stakeholders to design, plan, execute and monitor a national exercise on the resilience of public communication networks.
  Source: http://www.enisa.europa.eu/media/news-items/exercises-boost-cooperation
  Tags: Testing Cyber Security Attacks Headlines Network Security ENISA European Union Resilience Information Sharing