On Thursday 5 October, the Court of Auditors of the European Union published a report in which it states that clarifications should be made on certain points regarding the proposed Cyber Solidarity Act (see EUROPE 13164/1).
The Court of Auditors suggests that the European Commission provide estimates of the costs involved in setting up and implementing the measures included in the Cyberspace package presented on 18 April, such as the Cyber Shield and the Cyber Emergency Mechanism, including the EU Cybersecurity Reserve.
In the absence of an impact study, the auditors believe that there needs to be clarification on the available funding, which amounts to €843 million and is also intended to cover other cybersecurity actions under the Digital Europe Programme.
The document also stresses that details should be provided on the national security operations centres (SOCs) and cross-border security operations centres (cross-border SOCs) that will make up the Cyber Shield. The EU could contribute up to 50% to cover the costs of acquiring tools and infrastructure for eligible national SOCs and up to 75% for cross-border SOCs. The auditors question the technical reasons - in terms of the additional tools and infrastructure required - that would justify higher co-financing for cross-border SOCs.
In addition, the EU Court of Auditors believes that the regulation, as proposed, risks creating overlaps between the existing network of computer security incident response teams (CSIRTs) and SOCs. The Commission had said that SOCs would form a network that would complement the CSIRTs. However, some of their tasks are similar, particularly in terms of threat detection, response, intelligence and situational awareness.
Lastly, the report suggests that a maximum deadline for the submission of the ENISA report after each cyber incident should be specified and that the deadline for the submission of the report on the evaluation and review of the future regulation could be brought forward.
To view the report: https://aeur.eu/f/8wt (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)