The European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO) and the European Investment Advisory Hub, a joint advisory initiative of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group and the European Commission, announced today their participation in a feasibility study on the design and set-up of a European Cybersecurity Investment Platform (ECIP).
The new platform is expected to attract more investment in the European cybersecurity market. The feasibility study will be carried out by the Advisory Hub together with experts from the EIB Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers as a consultant. This public-private collaboration was initiated by the Basque Cybersecurity Centre (BCSC).
The study is the first step towards a more comprehensive public-private pan-European approach in support of cybersecurity investments. Laying the groundwork for a European Cybersecurity Investment Platform, the feasibility study will look at possibilities to attract large international investors to Europe. It will also analyse various options for supporting small and medium-sized cybersecurity companies to enable them to scale up, stay in Europe and compete in the global market. Additionally, the study will look at ways to encourage private investments by providing access to and simplifying information about the European Union’s cybersecurity market and the possibilities of creating dedicated technical assistance support programmes for investors and clients.
“Digitalisation is already today key to our competitiveness, productivity and job creation. And it will be even more so in the future. Done the right way, it can be crucial to tackling climate change as well,” said EIB Vice-President Kris Peeters. “However, as recent ransomware attacks have shown, there can be a steep price to pay if we don’t take digital threats seriously. That is why I’m glad, to take the next step, together with our partners, towards increasing our support for European cybersecurity. With the support of the Advisory Hub and by combining our efforts, we can provide in-depth market analysis that enables us to design the tools needed to support our startups and create a globally leading and more autonomous European cybersecurity ecosystem.”
Javier Diéguez, Director of the Basque Cybersecurity Centre and Co-Chair of the European Cyber Security Organisation’s International Cooperation Working Group announced the initiative during the ECSO and EIB’s kick-off meeting. In his view, “the strategic objective of our cybersecurity initiative is to promote and attract investments in European cybersecurity startups and SMEs to keep developing competence and strategic solutions within Europe.”
For Francois Lavaste, Executive Director at Ace Capital Partners and member of the European Cyber Security Organisation’s Board of Directors, “Europe needs a strong cybersecurity sector in order to protect its economy and reduce its technological dependence, and the European Cybersecurity Investment Platform has true potential in moving this objective forward. ECSO is proud to contribute to this project and to take part in the initiatives that will strengthen cybersecurity in Europe.”
The feasibility study to set up a European Cybersecurity Investment Platform is part of an initiative by the European Cyber Security Organisation that was launched with a letter of intent signed by 50 major European cybersecurity companies and organisations. The initiative aims to boost Europe’s industrial and investment capacity in cybersecurity and its uptake.