ENISA welcomes the Commission initiatives on the Digital Single Market for Europe

ENISA welcomes the Commission initiatives on the Digital Single Market (DSM) for Europe as published on Wednesday 6^th May, 2015.

ENISA’s Executive Director Udo Helmbrecht said: “Today marks an opportunity for Europe, its citizens and enterprises. The delivery of the DSM is a chance to reinforce citizens’ digital skills and trust for online services and the development of the EU’s industry - especially of SMEs - helping them make use of the benefits of the internal market”.

ENISA sees cyber security as a key element for our digital future. The protection of information, information systems and infrastructure from those threats associated with the use of ICT systems in a globally connected environment and which constitute the backbone of the modern society and economy, is inevitably linked with effective security policies and robust and resilient cyber defence capabilities. “An open, safe and secure cyberspace is key for the security aspects of these technologies and the underlying infrastructures, and cannot be underestimated in the context of an effective DSM” said Udo Helmbrecht.

The DSM is built on three pillars: (1) better access for consumers and businesses to digital goods and services across Europe; (2) creating the right conditions and a level playing field for digital networks and innovative services to flourish; (3) maximising the growth potential of the digital economy.

 Pillars two (2) and three (3) of the Digital Single Market (DSM) fall within the scope of ENISA.

Pillar 2: ENISA has been contributing to building reliable, trustworthy networks and services that safeguard consumers' fundamental rights to privacy and personal data protection that are a bedrock for DSM. Guidelines and recommendations available to stakeholders by ENISA aim at the secure use of technologies such as Cloud computing, Big Data, the Internet of Things etc.

Pillar 3: ENISA along with its stakeholders provides security related expertise for digital services in e-government, e-health, e-energy to e-transport, and in such area as intelligent transport systems, energy (smart grids, metering) to promote seamless servicing of the internal market.

ENISA is strategically well positioned to provide solutions and the knowledge that will support investment and deployment of electronic services in the EU internal market. ENISA will continue its work to:

• support Member States and the private sector in the area of protection of communication networks and Critical Infrastructure (finance, industry, health, transport, etc.) by providing recommendations, analysing attack surfaces and support information  exchange across different stakeholders in order to raise the level of security and resilience
• develop tools and facilitate cooperation to assist Member States and private sectors for cloud, big data, ICS SCADA, Smart grids, e-health, smart infrastructures, etc.
• assist Member States in the implementation of the NIS directive, national cybersecurity strategies and in any cyber security issue
• analyse security and privacy implications regarding emerging technologies such as big data, telemedicine, m-health, smart transport, etc.
• help identify indicators for cybersecurity in Europe in close cooperation with relevant stakeholders in order to support the implementation of DSM.
• support public private partnerships (PPPs) and foster information exchange and capacity building with particular attention to industry and interoperability.
• support cloud certification by supporting the already deployed tools CCSL and CCSM.
• provide security guidelines and tools for procurement to assist public sector to adopt cloud solutions (e-government).
• work together with the community to create baseline SLAs for Cloud services and Cloud security guidelines for procurement of cloud computing services in the public sector.
• support the EC in establishing the requirements of the European Cloud Initiative; support information sharing for cloud service providers.
• provide technical guidelines and recommendations on securing personal data.
• facilitate cooperation for the development and deployment of curricula align with the state-of-the-art of ICT technologies to address the security and data protection needs of the European citizens.
• support proposed NIS directive implementation: helping EU Member States, private sector and EU Commission to implement the NIS Directive.

The Agency actively contributes over a decade to a high level of network and information security within the Union, and uses its expertise to stimulate broad cooperation between actors from the public and private sectors to deliver its agenda on cyber security for the European Union and its citizens. ENISA, with its role in securing Europe’s future welcomes this strategy and supports the explicit actions designed to reinforce trust and security in digital services, addressing the needs for online network security and personal data protection.

For interviews and technical information on the subject please contact press@enisa.europa.eu, tel. +30 2814 409576