New set of measures to increase cybersecurity in the EU

On Tuesday 19th September, the European Commission and the High Representative proposed a wide-ranging set of measures to increase cybersecurity in the EU.

Vice president for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip together with fellow commissioners on security, Julian King, and digital affairs, Mariya Gabriel, detailed the plan to improve EU citizens and companies to tackle cyber threats by upgrading the EU's existing cybersecurity agency and encouraging  companies to improve their own defenses.

The new initiatives include a proposal for an EU Cybersecurity Agency to assist Member States in dealing with cyber-attacks, as well as a new European certification scheme that will ensure that products and services in the digital world are safe to use.

The new cybersecurity agency will be built upon the positive experience of ENISA and will organize yearly pan-European cybersecurity exercises and ensure better sharing of threat intelligence and knowledge through the setting up of Information Sharing and Analyses Centres. The new agency will also be responsible to implement the Directive on the Security of Network and Information Systems which contains reporting obligations to national authorities in case of serious incidents.

The European certification scheme will also be developed by the new agency to ensure that products and services are cyber secure. The Cybersecurity certificates will be recognised across Member States and will ensure the trustworthiness of today's critical infrastructures, such as energy and transport networks, but also new consumer devices, such as connected cars.

To unlock the full potential of the EU data economy, the Commission is additionally proposing a new set of rules to govern the free flow of non-personal data in the EU. Together with the already existing rules for personal data, the new measures will enable the storage and processing of non-personal data across the Union to boost the competitiveness of European businesses and to modernise public services in an effective EU single market for data services.

Source: www.ec.europa.eu