Europe prepares its cyber security systems to defend its health network

An international cyber attack has jeopardized the functioning of the entire European health network. The television networks have interrupted their programming to inform the population of what is happening. All of Europe is in a panic.

What today has been just a drill in which nearly a thousand computer scientists, hospital security managers and all kinds of experts from 29 European countries have participated, it is a real threat that has the States concerned due to the vulnerability of their health systems.

And it is that, according to Recorded Future, these types of attacks have increased in Germany alone from 60 to 110, which means 83% in the period from 2020 to 2021.

The drill was held in Athens this Wednesday at the headquarters of the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), and more than 800 participants from all over Europe took part in it.

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In this simulation, cybersecurity agencies faced two attacker profiles: criminal groups that seek to profit economically by reselling the information obtained or some external agent that seeks to defame the European Union.

The first day consisted of identifying and resolving various attacks against the European hospital network, which progressed from small, highly localized cyber incursions to massive, large-scale attacks.

At the same time, a disinformation campaign was launched aimed at manipulating the medical records of European Olympic athletes.

The participants had to identify the affected institutions, block the access that the attackers have and understand the seriousness of the situation.

Actions by the media and reactions on social networks were also simulated in order to be more prepared against disinformation.

During the second day, a major European cyber crisis will be simulated in which citizens’ medical data is threatened while a campaign is launched to discredit medical implants.

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“In attacks like these, the health information of any European citizen can be hijacked in order to resell it and make money, but they can also cause a disruption in health services,” said Juhan Leppassaar, ENISA’s Executive Director during a Press conference.

The simulations are “inspired” by real situations, some of which occurred in the midst of a pandemic.

However, there has not been time to update the data and adjust it to the reality that emerged after the Russian invasion of Ukraine due to the enormous planning involved in the exercise and its urgency, according to Christian Van Hearck, Head of the Exercise Sector. and ENISA Training.

Leppassaar has assured that the really important thing about these exercises is to learn from the failures and successes detected, and not focus so much on how well the simulation turns out.

The last exercise was carried out in 2018 and 900 people from all the countries of the European Union tried to solve problems related to possible cyber attacks caused by different radical movements, which were on the rise at the time.

Source: Elcomercio

James

I have worked as a journalist for over 10 years and have written for various news outlets. I currently work as an author at 24 News Recorder, mostly covering entertainment news. I have a keen interest in the industry and enjoy writing about the latest news and gossip. I am also a member of the National Association of Journalists.