Cyber Resilience Act 2023/2841 EN

1. The processing of personal data under this Regulation by CERT-EU, the Interinstitutional Cybersecurity Board established pursuant to Article 10 and Union_entities shall be carried out in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

2. Where they perform tasks or fulfil obligations pursuant to this Regulation, CERT-EU, the Interinstitutional Cybersecurity Board established pursuant to Article 10 and Union_entities shall process and exchange personal data only to the extent necessary and for the sole purpose of performing those tasks or fulfilling those obligations.

3. The processing of special categories of personal data as referred to in Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 shall be considered to be necessary for reasons of substantial public interest pursuant to Article 10(2), point (g), of that Regulation. Such data may be processed only to the extent necessary for the implementation of cybersecurity risk-management measures referred to in Articles 6 and 8, for the provision of services by CERT-EU pursuant to Article 13, for the sharing of incident-specific information pursuant to Article 17(3) and Article 18(3), for the sharing of information pursuant Article 20, for the reporting obligations pursuant to Article 21, for incident response coordination and cooperation pursuant to Article 22 and for the management of major incidents pursuant to Article 23 of this Regulation. The Union_entities and CERT-EU, when acting as data controllers, shall apply technical measures to prevent the processing of special categories of personal data for other purposes and shall provide for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and the interests of the data subjects.

CHAPTER II

MEASURES FOR A HIGH COMMON LEVEL OF CYBERSECURITY

Article 10

Interinstitutional Cybersecurity Board

1. An Interinstitutional Cybersecurity Board (IICB) is hereby established.

2. The IICB shall be responsible for:

(a)	monitoring and supporting the implementation of this Regulation by the Union_entities;

(b)	supervising the implementation of general priorities and objectives by CERT-EU and providing strategic direction to CERT-EU.

3. The IICB shall consist of:

(a)

one representative designated by each of the following:

(i)	the European Parliament;

(ii)	the European Council;

(iii)

the Council of the European Union;

(iv)	the Commission;

(v)	the Court of Justice of the European Union;

(vi)	the European Central Bank;

(vii)

the Court of Auditors;

(viii)

the European External Action Service;

(ix)	the European Economic and Social Committee;

(x)	the European Committee of the Regions;

(xi)	the European Investment Bank;

(xii)

the European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technology and Research Competence Centre;

(xiii)

ENISA;

(xiv)

the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS);

(xv)	the European Union Agency for the Space Programme.

(b)	three representatives designated by the EU Agencies Network (EUAN) on the basis of a proposal by its ICT Advisory Committee to represent the interests of the bodies, offices and agencies of the Union that run their own ICT environment, other than those referred to in point (a).

The Union_entities represented on the IICB shall aim to achieve gender balance among the designated representatives.

4. Members of the IICB may be assisted by an alternate. Other representatives of the Union_entities referred to in paragraph 3 or of other Union_entities may be invited by the Chair to attend IICB meetings without voting power.

5. The Head of CERT-EU and the Chairs of the Cooperation Group, the CSIRTs network and EU-CyCLONe established, respectively, pursuant to Articles 14, 15 and 16 of Directive (EU) 2022/2555, or their alternates, may participate in IICB meetings as observers. In exceptional cases, the IICB may, in accordance with its internal rules of procedure, decide otherwise.

6. The IICB shall adopt its internal rules of procedure.

7. The IICB shall designate a Chair in accordance with its internal rules of procedure, from among its members for a period of three years. The Chair’s alternate shall become a full member of the IICB for the same duration.

8. The IICB shall meet at least three times a year at the initiative of its Chair, at the request of CERT-EU or at the request of any of its members.

9. Each member of the IICB shall have one vote. The IICB’s decisions shall be taken by simple majority except where otherwise provided for in this Regulation. The Chair of the IICB shall not have a vote except in the event of a tied vote, in which case the Chair may cast a deciding vote.

10. The IICB may act by means of a simplified written procedure initiated in accordance with its internal rules of procedure. Under that procedure, the relevant decision shall be deemed to be approved within the timeframe set by the Chair, except where a member objects.

11. The secretariat of the IICB shall be provided by the Commission and shall be accountable to the Chair of the IICB.

12. The representatives nominated by the EUAN shall relay the IICB’s decisions to the members of the EUAN. Any member of the EUAN shall be entitled to raise with those representatives or the Chair of the IICB any matter which it considers should be brought to the IICB’s attention.

13. The IICB may establish an executive committee to assist it in its work, and delegate some of its tasks and powers to it. The IICB shall lay down the rules of procedure of the executive committee, including its tasks and powers, and the terms of office of its members.

14. By 8 January 2025 and on an annual basis thereafter, the IICB shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council detailing progress made with the implementation of this Regulation and specifying in particular the extent of cooperation of CERT-EU with Member State counterparts in each of the Member States. The report shall constitute an input to the biennial report on the state of cybersecurity in the Union adopted pursuant to Article 18 of Directive (EU) 2022/2555.

Article 11

Tasks of the IICB

When exercising its responsibilities, the IICB shall, in particular:

(a)	provide guidance to the Head of CERT-EU;

(b)	effectively monitor and supervise the implementation of this Regulation and support the Union_entities in strengthening their cybersecurity, including, where appropriate, requesting ad-hoc reports from Union_entities and CERT-EU;

(c)	following a strategic discussion, adopt a multiannual strategy on raising the level of cybersecurity in the Union_entities, asses that strategy on a regular basis and in any event every five years and, where necessary, amend that strategy;

(d)

establish the methodology and organisational aspects for the conduct of voluntary peer reviews by Union_entities, with a view to learning from shared experiences, strengthening mutual trust, achieving a high common level of cybersecurity, as well as enhancing Union_entities’ cybersecurity capabilities, ensuring that such peer reviews are conducted by cybersecurity experts designated by a Union entity different from the Union entity being reviewed and that the methodology is based on Article 19 of Directive (EU) 2022/2555 and is, where appropriate, adapted to the Union_entities;

(e)	approve, on the basis of a proposal by the Head of CERT-EU, CERT-EU’s annual work programme and monitor its implementation;

(f)	approve, on the basis of a proposal by the Head of CERT-EU, CERT-EU’s service catalogue and any updates thereof;

(g)	approve, on the basis of a proposal by the Head of CERT-EU, the annual financial planning of revenue and expenditure, including staffing, for CERT-EU activities;

(h)	approve, on the basis of a proposal by the Head of CERT-EU, the arrangements for service level agreements;

(i)	examine and approve the annual report drawn up by the Head of CERT-EU covering the activities of, and management of funds by, CERT-EU;

(j)	approve and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for CERT-EU established on the basis of a proposal by the Head of CERT-EU;

(k)	approve cooperation arrangements, service level agreements or contracts between CERT-EU and other entities pursuant to Article 18;

(l)	adopt guidelines and recommendations on the basis of a proposal by CERT-EU in accordance with Article 14 and instruct CERT-EU to issue, withdraw or modify a proposal for guidelines or recommendations, or a call for action;

(m)	establish technical advisory groups with specific tasks to assist the IICB’s work, approve their terms of reference and designate their respective Chairs;

(n)	receive and assess documents and reports submitted by the Union_entities under this Regulation, such as cybersecurity maturity assessments;

(o)	facilitate the establishment of an informal group of local cybersecurity officers of Union_entities, supported by ENISA, with the aim of exchanging best practices and information in relation to the implementation of this Regulation;

(p)	taking into account the information on the identified cybersecurity risks and lessons learnt provided by CERT-EU, monitor the adequacy of interconnectivity arrangements among the Union_entities’ ICT environments and advise on possible improvements;

(q)

establish a cyber crisis management plan with a view to supporting, at an operational level, the coordinated management of major incidents affecting Union_entities and to contributing to the regular exchange of relevant information, in particular with regard to the impacts and severity of, and the possible ways of mitigating the effects of, major incidents;

(r)	coordinate the adoption of individual Union_entities’ cyber crisis management plans referred to in Article 9(2);

(s)

adopt recommendations relating to supply chain security referred to in Article 8(2), first subparagraph, point (m), taking into account the results of Union level coordinated security risk assessments of critical supply chains referred to in Article 22 of Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to support Union_entities in adopting effective and proportionate cybersecurity risk-management measures.

Article 12

Compliance

1. The IICB shall, pursuant to Article 10(2) and Article 11, effectively monitor the implementation of this Regulation and of adopted guidelines, recommendations and calls for action by the Union_entities. The IICB may request information or documentation necessary for that purpose from the Union_entities. For the purpose of adopting compliance measures under this Article, where the Union entity concerned is directly represented on the IICB, that Union entity shall not have voting rights.

2. Where the IICB finds that a Union entity has not effectively implemented this Regulation or guidelines, recommendations or calls for action issued pursuant thereto, it may, without prejudice to the internal procedures of the Union entity concerned, and after giving an opportunity to the Union entity concerned to present its observations:

(a)	communicate a reasoned opinion to the Union entity concerned with observed gaps in the implementation of this Regulation;

(b)	provide, after consulting CERT-EU, guidelines to the Union entity concerned to ensure that its Framework, cybersecurity risk-management measures, cybersecurity plan and reporting comply with this Regulation within a specified period;

(c)	issue a warning to address identified shortcomings within a specified period, including recommendations to amend measures adopted by the Union entity concerned pursuant to this Regulation;

(d)	issue a reasoned notification to the Union entity concerned, in the event that shortcomings identified in a warning issued pursuant to point (c) were not sufficiently addressed within the specified period;

(e)

issue:

(i)	a recommendation for an audit to be carried out; or

(ii)	a request that an audit be performed by a third-party audit service;

(f)	if applicable, inform the Court of Auditors, within the remit of its mandate, of the alleged non-compliance;

(g)	issue a recommendation that all Member States and Union_entities implement a temporary suspension of data flows to the Union entity concerned.

For the purposes of the first subparagraph, point (c), the audience of a warning shall be restricted appropriately, where necessary in view of the cybersecurity risk.

Warnings and recommendations issued pursuant to the first subparagraph shall be directed to the highest_level_of_management of the Union entity concerned.

3. Where the IICB has adopted measures under paragraph 2, first subparagraph, points (a) to (g), the Union entity concerned shall provide details of the measures and actions taken to address the alleged shortcomings identified by the IICB. The Union entity shall submit those details within a reasonable period to be agreed with the IICB.

4. Where the IICB considers that there is persistent infringement of this Regulation by a Union entity resulting directly from actions or omissions of an official or other servant of the Union, including at the highest_level_of_management, the IICB shall request that the Union entity concerned take appropriate action, including requesting it to consider taking action of a disciplinary nature, in accordance with the rules and procedures laid down in the Staff Regulations and any other applicable rules and procedures. To that end, the IICB shall transfer the necessary information to the Union entity concerned.

5. Where Union_entities notify that they are unable to meet the deadlines set out in Article 6(1) and Article 8(1), the IICB may, in duly substantiated cases, taking into account the size of the Union entity, authorise the extension of those deadlines.

CHAPTER IV

CERT-EU

Article 13

CERT-EU mission and tasks

1. CERT-EU’s mission shall be to contribute to the security of the unclassified ICT environment of Union_entities by advising them on cybersecurity, by helping them to prevent, detect, handle, mitigate, respond to and recover from incidents and by acting as their cybersecurity information exchange and incident response coordination hub.

2. CERT-EU shall collect, manage, analyse and share information with the Union_entities on cyber_threats, vulnerabilities and incidents in unclassified ICT infrastructure. It shall coordinate responses to incidents at interinstitutional and Union entity level, including by providing or coordinating the provision of specialised operational assistance.

3. CERT-EU shall carry out the following tasks to assist the Union_entities:

(a)	support them with the implementation of this Regulation and contribute to the coordination of the implementation of this Regulation through the measures listed in Article 14(1) or through ad-hoc reports requested by the IICB;

(b)	offer standard CSIRT services for Union_entities by means of a package of cybersecurity services described in its service catalogue (baseline services);

(c)	maintain a network of peers and partners to support the services as outlined in Articles 17 and 18;

(d)	bring to the attention of the IICB any problems relating to the implementation of this Regulation and the implementation of guidelines, recommendations and calls for action;

(e)	on the basis of the information referred to in paragraph 2, contribute to the Union cyber situational awareness in close cooperation with ENISA;

(f)	coordinate the management of major incidents;

(g)	act on the part of Union_entities as the equivalent of the coordinator designated for the purposes of coordinated vulnerability disclosure pursuant to Article 12(1) of Directive (EU) 2022/2555;

(h)	provide, upon the request of a Union entity, proactive non-intrusive scanning of publicly accessible network_and_information_systems of that Union entity.

The information referred to in the first subparagraph, point (e), shall be shared with the IICB, the CSIRTs network and the European Union Intelligence and Situation Centre (EU INTCEN), where applicable and appropriate, and subject to appropriate confidentiality conditions.

4. CERT-EU may, in accordance with Article 17 or 18 as appropriate, cooperate with relevant cybersecurity communities within the Union and its Member States, including in the following areas:

(a)	preparedness, incident coordination, information exchange and crisis response at the technical level on cases linked to Union_entities;

(b)	operational cooperation regarding the CSIRTs network, including with regard to mutual assistance;

(c)	cyber_threat intelligence, including situational awareness;

(d)	on any topic requiring CERT-EU’s technical cybersecurity expertise.

5. Within its competence, CERT-EU shall engage in structured cooperation with ENISA on capacity building, operational cooperation and long-term strategic analyses of cyber_threats in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/881. CERT-EU may cooperate and exchange information with Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre.

6. CERT-EU may provide the following services not described in its service catalogue (chargeable services):

(a)

services that support the cybersecurity of Union_entities’ ICT environment, other than those referred to in paragraph 3, on the basis of service level agreements and subject to available resources, in particular broad-spectrum network monitoring, including first-line 24/7 monitoring for high-severity cyber_threats;

(b)	services that support cybersecurity operations or projects of Union_entities, other than those to protect their ICT environment, on the basis of written agreements and with the prior approval of the IICB;

(c)	upon request, a proactive scanning of the network_and_information_systems of the Union entity concerned to detect vulnerabilities with a potential significant impact;

(d)

services that support the security of their ICT environment to organisations other than the Union_entities that cooperate closely with Union_entities, for instance by having tasks or responsibilities conferred under Union law, on the basis of written agreements and with the prior approval of the IICB.

With regard to the first subparagraph, point (d), CERT-EU may, on an exceptional basis, enter into service level agreements with entities other than the Union_entities with the prior approval of the IICB.

7. CERT-EU shall organise and may participate in cybersecurity exercises or recommend participation in existing exercises, where applicable in close cooperation with ENISA, to test the level of cybersecurity of the Union_entities.

8. CERT-EU may provide assistance to Union_entities regarding incidents in network_and_information_systems handling EUCI where it is explicitly requested to do so by the Union_entities concerned in accordance with their respective procedures. The provision of assistance by CERT-EU under this paragraph shall be without prejudice to applicable rules concerning the protection of classified information.

9. CERT-EU shall inform Union_entities about its incident handling procedures and processes.

10. CERT-EU shall contribute, with a high level of confidentiality and reliability, via the appropriate cooperation mechanisms and reporting lines, relevant and anonymised information about major incidents and the manner in which they were handled. That information shall be included in the report referred to in Article 10(14).

11. CERT-EU shall, in cooperation with the EDPS, support the Union_entities concerned when addressing incidents resulting in personal data breaches, without prejudice to the competence and tasks of the EDPS as a supervisory authority under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

12. CERT-EU may, if expressly requested by Union_entities’ policy departments, provide technical advice or input on relevant policy matters.

Article 15

Head of CERT-EU

1. The Commission, after obtaining the approval of a majority of two thirds of the members of the IICB, shall appoint the Head of CERT-EU. The IICB shall be consulted at all stages of the appointment procedure, in particular with regard to drafting vacancy notices, examining applications and appointing selection boards in relation to the post. The selection procedure, including the final shortlist of candidates from which the Head of CERT-EU is to be appointed, shall ensure fair representation of each gender, taking into account the applications submitted.

2. The Head of CERT-EU shall be responsible for the proper functioning of CERT-EU and shall act within the remit of his or her role and under the direction of the IICB. The Head of CERT-EU shall report regularly to the Chair of the IICB and shall submit ad-hoc reports to the IICB upon its request.

3. The Head of CERT-EU shall assist the responsible authorising officer by delegation in drafting the annual activity report containing financial and management information, including the results of controls, drawn up in accordance with Article 74(9) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9), and shall report regularly to the authorising officer by delegation on the implementation of measures in respect of which powers have been sub-delegated to the Head of CERT-EU.

4. The Head of CERT-EU shall draw up, on an annual basis, a financial planning of administrative revenue and expenditure for its activities, a proposed annual work programme, a proposed service catalogue for CERT-EU, proposed revisions of the service catalogue, proposed arrangements for service level agreements and proposed KPIs for CERT-EU, to be approved by the IICB in accordance with Article 11. When revising the list of services in CERT-EU’s service catalogue, the Head of CERT-EU shall take into account the resources allocated to CERT-EU.

5. The Head of CERT-EU shall submit reports at least annually to the IICB and the Chair of the IICB on the activities and performance of CERT-EU during the reference period, including on the implementation of the budget, service level agreements and written agreements entered into, cooperation with counterparts and partners, and missions undertaken by staff, including the reports referred to in Article 11. Those reports shall include a work programme for the following period, financial planning of revenue and expenditure, including staffing, planned updates of CERT-EU’s service catalogue and an assessment of the expected impact that such updates may have with regard to financial and human resources.

Article 17

Cooperation of CERT-EU with Member State counterparts

1. CERT-EU shall, without undue delay, cooperate and exchange information with Member State counterparts, in particular the CSIRTs designated or established pursuant to Article 10 of Directive (EU) 2022/2555, or, where applicable, the competent authorities and single points of contact designated or established pursuant to Article 8 of that Directive, with regard to incidents, cyber_threats, vulnerabilities, near_misses, possible countermeasures as well as best practices and on all matters relevant for improving the protection of the ICT environments of Union_entities, including by means of the CSIRTs network established pursuant to Article 15 of Directive (EU) 2022/2555. CERT-EU shall support the Commission in EU-CyCLONe established pursuant to Article 16 of Directive (EU) 2022/2555 on the coordinated management of large-scale cybersecurity incidents and crises.

2. Where CERT-EU becomes aware of a significant incident occurring within the territory of a Member State, it shall, without delay, notify any relevant counterpart in that Member State, in accordance with paragraph 1.

3. Provided that personal data are protected in accordance with applicable Union data protection law, CERT-EU shall, without undue delay, exchange relevant incident-specific information with Member State counterparts to facilitate detection of similar cyber_threats or incidents, or to contribute to the analysis of an incident, without the authorisation of the Union entity affected. CERT-EU shall exchange incident-specific information which reveals the identity of the target of the incident only in the event of one of the following:

(a)	the Union entity affected consents;

(b)	the Union entity affected does not consent as provided for in point (a) but the disclosure of the identity of the Union entity affected would increase the probability that incidents elsewhere would be avoided or mitigated;

(c)	the Union entity affected has already made public that it was affected.

Decisions to exchange incident-specific information which reveals the identity of the target of the incident pursuant to the first subparagraph, point (b), shall be endorsed by the Head of CERT-EU. Prior to issuing such a decision, CERT-EU shall contact the Union entity affected in writing, explaining clearly how the disclosure of its identity would help to avoid or mitigate incidents elsewhere. The Head of CERT-EU shall provide the explanation and explicitly request the Union entity to state whether it consents within a set timeframe. The Head of CERT-EU shall also inform the Union entity that, in light of the explanation provided, he or she reserves the right to disclose the information even in the absence of consent. The Union entity affected shall be informed before the information is disclosed.

Article 19

Information handling

1. Union_entities and CERT-EU shall respect the obligation of professional secrecy in accordance with Article 339 TFEU or equivalent applicable frameworks.

2. Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10) shall apply with regard to requests for public access to documents held by CERT-EU, including the obligation under that Regulation to consult other Union_entities or, where relevant, Member States, whenever a request concerns their documents.

3. The handling of information by Union_entities and CERT-EU shall comply with the applicable rules on information security.

Article 22

Incident response coordination and cooperation

1. In acting as a cybersecurity information exchange and incident response coordination hub, CERT-EU shall facilitate information exchange with regards to incidents, cyber_threats, vulnerabilities and near_misses among:

(a)	Union_entities;

(b)	the counterparts referred to in Articles 17 and 18.

2. CERT-EU, where relevant in close cooperation with ENISA, shall facilitate coordination among Union_entities on incident response, including:

(a)	contribution to consistent external communication;

(b)	mutual support, such as sharing information relevant to Union_entities, or providing assistance, where relevant directly on site;

(c)	optimal use of operational resources;

(d)	coordination with other crisis response mechanisms at Union level.

3. CERT-EU, in close cooperation with ENISA, shall support Union_entities regarding situational awareness of incidents, cyber_threats, vulnerabilities and near_misses as well as sharing relevant developments in the field of cybersecurity.

4. By 8 January 2025, the IICB shall, on the basis of a proposal by CERT-EU, adopt guidelines or recommendations on incident response coordination and cooperation for significant incidents. Where the criminal nature of an incident is suspected, CERT-EU shall advise on how to report the incident to law enforcement authorities, without undue delay.

5. Following a specific request from a Member State and with the approval of the Union_entities concerned, CERT-EU may call on experts from the list referred to in Article 23(4), for contributing to the response to a major incident which has an impact in that Member State, or a large-scale cybersecurity incident in accordance with Article 15(3), point (g), of Directive (EU) 2022/2555. Specific rules on access to and the use of technical experts from Union_entities shall be approved by the IICB on the basis of a proposal by CERT-EU.

whereas

keyboard_tab Cyber Resilience Act 2023/2841 EN

Cyber Resilience Act 2023/2841 EN