HomeInsightsGovernment publishes response to its consultation on Security of Network and Information Systems Directive

The Government’s National Cyber Security Strategy was published on 1 November 2016, setting out the Government’s vision for the UK in 2021 as “secure and resilient to cyber threats, prosperous and confident in the digital world.”

In August 2017, the Government published its proposals for improving the security of the UK’s essential services, through its plans to implement the Security of Network and Information Systems Directive in a public consultation. This consultation covered six main topics:

  • how to identify essential services;
  • a national framework to manage implementation;
  • the security requirements for operators of essential services;
  • the incident reporting requirements for operators of essential services;
  • the requirements on Digital Service Providers; and
  • the proposed penalty regime.

The Government received over 350 responses to the consultation. The responses showed that there was broad support for the Government’s approach and that in the main, the Government’s proposals were thought to be appropriate and proportionate.

Respondents also highlighted areas of concern and the Government says that it has attempted to address these through changes to its approach. The main changes that the Government proposes to make are clarifying:

  • the thresholds required to identify operators of essential services;
  • the role of the Competent Authority and how powers may be delegated to agencies;
  • that the role of the National Cyber Security Agency is limited to cyber security;
  • the expectations on operators within the first year or so; and
  • the definitions of Digital Service Providers.

The Government also intends to simplify:

  • the incident response regime so as to separate incident response procedures from incident reporting procedures; and
  • the penalty regime slightly, to reduce the risk of fines in excess of £17m.

To read the Government’s response in full, click here.

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