The European Commission announced the successful pilot scheme with regard to the functioning of the Computer Emergency Response Team, or CERT-EU. For this reason, the Vice-President Neelie Kroes assured that the EU institutions can now count on a permanent CERT to deal with increasingly sophisticated cyber threats against them.

The successful of one-year pilot scheme with regard to the Computer Emergency Response Team, or CERT-EU, has led to the EU institutions to establish the EU's Computer Emergency Response Team, or CERT-EU, on a permanent basis. Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič highlighted that CERT-EU is helping the EU institutions to improve their protection against cyber threats. It is a very successful example of what the EU institutions can achieve when they work together. In April 2011, a report stressed further action in this area is required, especially regarding the establishment of an efficient network of Computer Emergency Response Teams.

CERT-EU will work in particular very closely with the internal IT security teams of the EU institutions and liaises with the community of CERTs and IT security companies in the Member States and elsewhere, exchanging information on threats and how to handle them. In recent years, CERTs have been set up in both the public and private sectors as small teams of cyber-experts that can effectively and efficiently respond to information security incidents and cyber threats.

CERTs have proven to be a key component in the defence strategy against these threats by preventing, detecting and correcting vulnerabilities and compromises. They warn their clients against vulnerabilities or threats and recommend actions to mitigate the risks. They help to detect compromised systems and attacks and take appropriate steps to stop them and/or recover from them. They are highly interconnected with each other, creating a community of experts fighting for the common cause of cyber security.