Communication on ‘Making the most of NIS: towards the effective implementation of Directive (EU) 2016/1148 concerning measures for a high common level of security of network and information systems across the Union’

Further information:

Directive (EU) 2016/1148 on the security of network and information systems across the Union (NIS Directive), adopted on 6 July 2016, became the first EU horizontal legislation addressing cybersecurity challenges and a true game changer for cybersecurity resilience and cooperation across the European Union.

The Directive has three main objectives:
+ Improving national cybersecurity capabilities;
+ Building cooperation at EU level;
+ Promoting a culture of risk management and incident reporting among key economic actors, notably operators providing essential services (OES) for the maintenance of economic and societal activities and Digital Service Providers (DSPs).

This Communication aims to reinforce efforts by bringing together and comparing best practices from the Member States which are relevant for the implementation of the Directive, by providing further guidance on how the Directive should be implemented and through more detailed explanations on specific provisions. The overarching goal is to support Member States to achieve an effective and harmonised implementation of the NIS Directive across the EU.

Summary:

The European Commission released on 13 September 2017 a Communication which is based on the preparatory work and analysis related to the implementation of the Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive and on discussions held with Member States in the transposition phase of the Directive, coming to an end in May 2018.

• Primary Source

European Commission: Joint Statement by Vice-President Ansip and Commissioners Avramopoulos, King and Gabriel on the new EU-wide cybersecurity rules http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-18-3650_en.htm

European Commission [Q&A]: Directive on Security of Network and Information systems, the first EU-wide legislation on cybersecurity http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-18-3651_en.htm

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