Cybersecurity en Cybercrime: European developments

Cybercrime and cybersecurity in the news

Anyone who follows the news will recently have read many newsreports about cybercrime and cybersecurity. Terms such as 'ransomware', 'malware' and 'ddos attacks' appear frequently in all these reports. Companies and organisations (for instance VDL and the Mediamarkt) have recently had to deal with them, and they can be costly affairs. Hackers often demand huge amounts of ransom money. In the case of “Mediamarkt”, the amount is said to be 50 million dollars. 

There are already more ‘connected devices’ than there are people in the world. By 2025, there will be an estimated 25 billion ‘connected devices’, half of which will be in Europe.

Many organisations are not (yet) properly secured. This applies to the private sector as well as to the public sector. Recent research has shown that many municipalities are not properly prepared for cyber attacks. There is, for example, no script for a digital crisis. For many companies it is no different. One in eight companies has already been involved in an attack in one way or another. Around 3 out of 5 users in the EU do not consider themselves able to protect themselves adequately against cyberattacks. Digital security is therefore a topic of growing importance.

Cybersecurity as a European theme

From an EU perspective, more and more attention is being paid to cybersecurity. Since 2016, the so-called NIS Directive has been in force. This Directive has been implemented in the Netherlands through the Security of Network and Information Systems Act (Wbni). That law contains obligations for so-called providers of ‘vital services’ and certain digital service providers.

Since 1 December last year, there also is a European strategy for cyber security in the digital age. Recently, the European Commission decided to further explore the possibilities of setting up a joint cyber unit, the so-called Joint Cyber Unit. This unit would bring together expertise from across the EU to deal with cyber crises and to create the possibility for Member States to support each other.

The Unit should become operational as early as 2022 (click here for more information). Europe has also already presented a toolbox of measures to limit the cyber security risks of 5G networks (link in Dutch).

What does this mean for you?

European and Dutch legislation may increasingly contain obligations for you as a private party. This applies in any case if you are a provider of 'vital services'. But also if you are confronted with a cyber security incident, you may have a duty to report this, for example to the Dutch Data Protection Authority.

This field of regulations and legislation is complex. We are more than happy to help you map out your obligations in this area. This can save you a lot of trouble and possible fines!