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Tutti i cittadini desiderano vivere in un mondo sicuro e senza rischi, ma, allo stesso tempo, non vogliono rinunciare alla propria privacy e libertà. Con l’aumentare degli attacchi cibernetici, crescono anche le preoccupazioni relative alla sicurezza internazionale, spingendo a chiedersi se le due cose possano essere completamente garantite.
For this reason, the European Union is trying to address both problems to protect citizens, businesses and public bodies.
Its digital agenda, for example, has identified 14 actions to improve cybersecurity. In terms of privacy, the Directive on the processing of personal data provides that personal data can only be collected lawfully, under strict conditions and for legitimate purposes. In 2012, the Commission proposed a major reform of the European Union's legal framework for the protection of personal data, with the aim of strengthening individual rights and meeting the challenges of globalization and new technologies. More recently, in 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a landmark ruling on the "right to be forgotten" in relation to online search engines.
In this context, research and development play a very important role in trying to develop technologies and processes to support policies and actions aimed at protecting security and privacy.
Under the Horizon 2020 programme, one of the main objectives of the challenge “Secure Societies: Protecting the freedom and security of Europe and its citizens” is to ensure greater cybersecurity, from information sharing to new assurance models. This challenge promotes an “end-user-centric” approach aimed at meeting the needs of different groups such as law enforcement agencies, first responders, critical infrastructure operators, ICT service providers, ICT manufacturers, market operators and citizens.
Another central objective of the programme’s security activities is to ensure privacy and security, including on the Internet, and to improve societal, ethical and legal understanding of all aspects of security, risk and management. This is why, in March 2015, a series of calls will be launched under Horizon 2020, under the title “Digital Security: Cybersecurity, Privacy and Trust”.