EU Develops New Cybersecurity Rules

The European Union will propose new cybersecurity rules Feb 7, requiring search engines, energy providers, banks and other companies to report disruptions to government authorities.

Transit hubs, stock exchanges and a host of other entities would be covered by the proposal, which has been seen by The Wall Street Journal and which the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, drafted after a decade of failed voluntary measures. The proposals still must be reviewed by the European parliament and the leaders of the EU's 27 national governments before becoming law. Such proposals are generally amended but ultimately approved, a process that normally takes roughly two years. The proposal requires all EU countries to establish competent authorities to monitor online security and set up Computer Emergency Response Teams. Many of the countries already have such an authority. That would encourage countries to share information and improve resilience.