Avner Motaev looks into a cybersecurity deal in the EU.
The 29 nations of the EU may see stronger cybersecurity, thanks to a deal recently struck by the EU that obliges businesses to strengthen their defences against attacks and report them when they occur.
I’ve decided to look further into this news and draw a conclusion on the action.
New obligations
The law would mandate for all EU nations to share more information: search engines, cloud services and e-commerce sites would have to ensure that their sites are strong in regards to infrastructure and security.
‘Critical operators’ in industries including energy, transport, health and banking “will have to fulfill security measures and notify significant cyber incidents” according to Andreas Schwab, the lead lawmaker on the draft legislation
Mr. Schwab went on to say:
“Parliament has pushed hard for a harmonised identification of critical operators in energy, transport, health or banking fields, which will have to fulfil security measures and notify significant cyber incidents. Member states will have to cooperate more on cybersecurity – which is even more important in light of the current security situation in Europe.”
His statement implies the move may be inclined towards fighting terrorism in Europe.
Further details
In a statement published on the European Parliament’s website, the draft ruling intends to set up a ‘strategic co-operation group’ to exchange information and discuss best practices.
Furthermore, a cross-border network of teams responsible for handling attacks and other issues called ‘Computer Security Incidents Response Teams’, is proposed for establishment in order to tackle issues and discuss them in a more co-ordinated manner.
Andreas Schwab comments:
“…this directive marks the beginning of platform regulation. Whilst the Commission’s consultation on online platforms is still on-going, the new rules already foresee concrete definitions – a request that Parliament had made since the beginning in order to give its consent to the inclusion of digital services.“
Mr Schwab’s sentiment leads to my conclusion – clear definitions of digital services and what they entail (e-commerce, search engines, mobile services) are important for the future of security in the digital and online sphere in Europe.
Avner Motaev
Avner Motaev is the director of Mobile2Business, a provider of telecommunications solutions to businesses in Austria. Mobile2Business is an official business partner of T-Mobile.