Report assessing the extent to which the Member States have taken the necessary measures in order to comply with Directive 2013/40/EU on attacks against information systems

According to Europol's 2016 Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA), cybercrime is becoming more aggressive and confrontational. This can be seen in various forms of cybercrime, including attacks against information systems. Some serious forms of attacks that Europol mentions are the use of malicious software and social engineering to infiltrate and gain control over an information system or to intercept communications and the launch of wide-scale network attacks, including on critical infrastructure. These attacks are identified as key threats to our society.

With more and more information stored in clouds, and information and criminals now highly mobile, cross-border cooperation between law enforcement authorities has become crucial for most cybercrime investigations. To fight these crimes effectively, Member States need to commonly define what acts should be considered attacks against information systems. They also need to have approximated levels of sanctions and the operational means to report offences and exchange information between authorities. Accordingly, on 12 August 2013, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Directive 2013/40/EU on attacks against information systems.

This report responds to the requirement under Article 17 of the Directive for the Commission to report to the European Parliament and the Council, assessing the extent to which the Member States have taken the necessary measures in order to comply with the Directive. The aim of the report is therefore to provide a concise yet informative overview of the main transposition measures taken by Member States.

European Commission / EEAS: JOIN (2017) 450 final (13.09.17): Communication ... Resilience, Deterrence and Defence: Building strong cybersecurity for the EU http://www.europeansources.info/record/resilience-deterrence-and-defence-building-strong-cybersecurity-for-the-eu/

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