EU lawmakers, countries agree on bloc's

first cyber-security law

by. Julia Fioretti, Reuters.

EU lawmakers Monday Dec 7,

2015 along with member states
agreed upon the first cybersecurity law in response to
growing concerns of future cyber
attacks. The negotions took place
with European Parliament and EU
governments lasting five hours till an agreement was made.
The internet knows no border a problem in once country can have a knock-on
effect in the rest of Europe as quoted by the European Commissions digital chief,
Andrus Ansip. The goal is to build the trust between consumers and internet services,
most importantly those that cross borders. Companies such as Google, Amazon, eBay
and Cisco would be required to notify national authorities when serious incidents occur.
The reporting will also be required by critical infrastructure such as transport, energy,
health, and finance but would not be required from social media such as Facebook.
There currently is a battle of sorts in the U.S. between the private sector and
government when it comes to cyber security. The private sector is hesitant and often
times to sweep incidents under the rug or keep them hidden until they end up reaching
a level they can no longer go unnoticed. The government wants immediate knowledge

to be able to intervene and assist while that would require the private sector to be open
with its intellectual property.
The ethical dilemma continues to be whether a company should be forced to
reveal a breach of its sensitive information or have the right to keep it quiet until it can
no longer remain hidden. The overall issue gets down to money. A company that has
been breached stands to lose countless revenue so keeping an incident quiet often
times is in their best interest regardless of the damage to its customers. The bottom
line; who is accountable and who should take action and what will that action be?

Fioretti, Julia. 'EU Lawmakers, Countries Agree On Bloc's First Cyber-Security Law'.
Reuters. N.p., 2015. Web. 9 Dec. 2015.