By William Jackson
GCN.com
Nov 03, 2009
The United States and the European Union have agreed to treat cybersecurity, cyber crime and data protection as international issues, cooperatively developing polices based on shared values.
Mary Ellen Callahan, chief privacy officer of the Homeland Security Department, called the recent joint statement on these principles by U.S. and E.U. officials a major milestone in data protection and data sharing.
"The next step is negotiating a binding international E.U.-U.S.
agreement based on these common principles to facilitate further cooperation while ensuring the availability of full protection for our citizens," she said.
The pledge is intended to extend ongoing efforts to align U.S. and E.U.
policies on transatlantic issues, as Europe updates its human rights policies in the Stockholm Programme, expected to be completed this year.
"We would like to take this opportunity to renew our partnership for the next five years," the statement said.
