Ben Wagner

A Typology of Cybersecurity and Public–Private Partnerships in the Context of the European Union

The European Union increasingly aims towards a “partnership” with private companies for ensuring public security. The loosely defined, or contested, area of “cybersecurity” provides the leading case for involving private actors in transnational security governance, which interacts with the dynamic debate on different models of “internet” or “cyberspace” governance. At the same time, official proclamations and the practice of such public private partnerships in cybersecurity remain highly diverse. This chapter therefore first sets out a typology for categorizing different forms of public–private interactions for cybersecurity, only some of which qualify as more regularized and operational “partnership”. On this basis, the chapter surveys the activities of ENISA and EUROPOL as the two leading agencies of EU cybersecurity. In particular, the increasing relations the EC3 cybersecurity centre within EUROPOL with leading private IT security companies is discussed. The conclusions underline the lack of public knowledge and need for critical normative reflection on these partnerships, particularly in so far as they extend to more proactive prosecution of cybercrimes.