The European Commission plans to involve Member States and the private sector in the creation, by 2027 at the latest, of a platform to examine the risks posed by advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) models to the cybersecurity of the European Union; at the same time, it will seek to persuade large technology companies to allow access and evaluation of their systems, as it has been attempting for months with Mythos (Anthropic).
"AI is transforming the meaning of cybersecurity and we must keep pace," warned the Vice-President of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, presenting the new action plan from Strasbourg (France) with which Brussels aims to position the EU in a leadership role and strengthen its defenses.
The proposal does not include regulatory changes or new financial resources, given that, as Virkkunen emphasized, the EU has "solid political and legal foundations" in this area. The objective is to organize the adaptation to the emerging cybersecurity challenges introduced by the most advanced AI models and to set a roadmap with priorities for the next twelve months.
"We must leverage and focus existing resources, networks, and the legal framework to strengthen the cybersecurity that protects our digital landscape," insisted Virkkunen, after admitting the "complex" situation represented by advanced AI models developed mainly by companies outside the EU, to which Community institutions have more limited access.
In this scenario, the Community Executive wants to articulate this course of action with the collaboration of the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), in order to design a European plan for "structured access to advanced AI means for cybersecurity."
With this initiative, Brussels intends to offer Guidelines to support competent European public and private organizations in accessing advanced AI models. "Europe also needs clear and transparent conditions for accessing the most advanced AI systems," the Commission concluded.
From this framework, ENISA and the Commission's Joint Research Centre will launch a "secure platform" to test the use of AI in the field of cybersecurity, including the use of simulated environments.
This instrument will provide "technical knowledge" on the safe use of AI to operators in strategic sectors, including finance, energy, health, transport, and public administration.