EU Directive on Cyber Security to be expected in August 2016

The EU Council adopted this week the Network and Information Security Directive (NIS Directive) at first reading. The NIS Directive is part of the EU cyber security strategy, which main objective is to prevent and respond to disruptions and cyber-attacks in telecommunications systems located in the EU.

The Directive aims at achieving a minimum level of IT security and implementing an effective risk management culture for digital technologies. Furthermore, it also aims at dealing with IT security breaches by imposing the obligation to report significant incidents without delay, especially for business or organizations whose main activity is subject to a higher risk, such as cloud providers or social networks.

The five main goals of the NIS Directive are:

• To achieve cyber resilience
• To reduce cybercrime significantly
• To develop a cyber defense policy at EU level by creating authorities at national level
• To promote the development of technological resources
• To implement a solid international cyberspace policy

After the EU Council has adopted the NIS Directive at first reading, the draft must be approved by the EU Parliament at second reading. If the EU Parliament approves the Directive, it might enter into force in August 2016.