European lawmaker blames shopowners for cybersecurity failures after retail attacks

European Parliament member Riho Terras stated that the European Union needs to use its strength on cyber resilience following recent cyberattacks that hit multiple supermarkets across Europe, Euronews reported. Speaking to Euronews, Terras pointed to business owners as partly responsible for the incidents due to a lack of financing from shopowners and insufficient upgrades to computer systems. [1]

Public anxiety regarding digital vulnerabilities remains high across the bloc. The Irish Times reported that a recent poll conducted by the Bertelsmann Foundation showed nearly three-quarters of European Union citizens fear that critical digital services could be remotely disabled by actors outside Europe. The Irish Times also reported that the same majority believes Europe must maintain control over key digital technologies. [2]

Terras is an Estonian politician who has served as a member of the European Parliament since February 2020. He previously served as the Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces from 2011 to 2018 and was promoted to general in 2017. The European Union is a political and economic union comprising 27 member states. [3][4]

The remarks follow wider warnings regarding European digital vulnerability. As FTMQ News reported earlier, the European Union cybersecurity agency ENISA warned that artificial intelligence is industrialising cyberattacks and accelerating exploitation times. Additionally, an earlier European Commission survey noted that three in four European Union workers have encountered suspicious emails or links at work. [7][8]