MUNICH — Europe must be able to strike back in cyberspace, as the strategy to deter adversaries is no longer enough, the EU executive’s tech and security chief told POLITICO.
“It’s not enough that we are just defending … We also have to have offensive capacity,” the European Commission’s Executive Vice President Henna Virkkunen said in an interview on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday.
For years, European capitals have held back from stating publicly that they support offensive cyber operations — known as “hacking back” — because of fears that such operations could trigger retaliation and escalation from countries like Russia, China and others.