DIGITALEUROPE welcomes Cybersecurity Act and looks forward to future work

DIGITALEUROPE welcomes the political agreement on the Cybersecurity Act reached last week in Strasbourg and confirmed by Member State representatives yesterday. The Act will contribute to strengthened cybersecurity throughout the EU by enhancing the role of the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) and by establishing a framework for the development of European cybersecurity certification schemes.

“A more digital and connected world requires more cybersecurity, of which certification can be an important tool,” said Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, Director-General of DIGITALEUROPE. “We want the Cybersecurity Act to be a success story and look forward to working with ENISA, the European Commission and Member States to develop schemes that meet the needs of European and global markets,” she concluded.

Co-legislators have achieved a balanced outcome in the final Act that aims to promote stakeholder participation throughout the development of EU-wide cybersecurity certification schemes and due consideration to how certification can impact innovation and cost for the growing digital economy. The framework will be able to benefit from the European and global experience gathered under existing agreements and standards.

DIGITALEUROPE applauds in particular the continued focus on the voluntary nature of certification. We believe that the success of the framework will rely on letting new technologies use cybersecurity certification as a competitive asset; by contrast, mandatory certification, especially in markets that are still largely unexplored, could have adverse effects on companies’ ability to grow and innovate and should therefore only be introduced following a thorough future assessment.