The United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (“NCSC”) recently announced guidance whereby industries could be fined up to $24 million (£17 million) for not having effective cybersecurity measures in place.  The penalties apply to critical infrastructure sectors including energy, transportation, water and healthcare.  While the U.K. government stated that these penalties will be “a last resort,” the government will employ “sector-specific regulators” to monitor cybersecurity compliance across these critical infrastructure disciplines. 

Concurrently, the NCSC released Network and Information Systems (“NIS”) Guidance, which dovetails with the European Union’s NIS Directive for an EU bloc-wide cybersecurity deadline by May 9, 2018.  The NCSC’s guidance is based on “14 key principles” and align with current cybersecurity standards.  NCSC is due to provide a Cyber Assessment Framework by late April 2018, which should provide a systematic methodology that critical industry can use to meet compliance with the 14 requisite cybersecurity principles.

Created in 2017, the NCSC functions as the cybersecurity technical expert and advisor to the U.K. government and industry.  They are serving as the point of contact for the United Kingdom’s NIS implementation efforts. The NCSC is also the notification point of contact for all cyber-related incident reporting.

 

 

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Photo of Maida Oringher Lerner Maida Oringher Lerner

Maida Lerner is senior counsel in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office and a part of the firm’s Privacy & Cybersecurity, Government Contracts, and Environment & Natural Resources groups. Maida counsels a broad group of clients in a variety of sectors on cyber…

Maida Lerner is senior counsel in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office and a part of the firm’s Privacy & Cybersecurity, Government Contracts, and Environment & Natural Resources groups. Maida counsels a broad group of clients in a variety of sectors on cyber and physical security compliance and risk management, homeland security, and administrative matters, including trade associations and companies in the pipeline, transportation, government contracts, education, health care, and manufacturing sectors.

Photo of Maarten Stassen Maarten Stassen

Maarten Stassen is a partner in the Brussels office of Crowell & Moring, where he is a member of the firm’s Privacy & Cybersecurity Group. His practice focuses on privacy and data protection, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and cross-border data…

Maarten Stassen is a partner in the Brussels office of Crowell & Moring, where he is a member of the firm’s Privacy & Cybersecurity Group. His practice focuses on privacy and data protection, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and cross-border data transfers solutions, as well as on the legal and operational aspects of the digital ecosystem, including Internet of Things (IoT), MedTech, and upcoming technologies such as Distributed Ledger Technology (e.g. Blockchain).

Before joining Crowell & Moring, Maarten was a director in Deloitte’s Cyber practice, as well as the Faculty Leader of the European Privacy Academy. He has been focusing on privacy and data protection law for many years, first as a lawyer in both Spain and Belgium, and later as European Privacy Officer of an international health insurance company.

Photo of Michael G. Gruden, CIPP/G Michael G. Gruden, CIPP/G

Michael G. Gruden is a counsel in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office, where he is a member of the firm’s Government Contracts and Privacy and Cybersecurity groups. He possesses real-world experience in the areas of federal procurement and data security, having worked…

Michael G. Gruden is a counsel in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office, where he is a member of the firm’s Government Contracts and Privacy and Cybersecurity groups. He possesses real-world experience in the areas of federal procurement and data security, having worked as a Contracting Officer at both the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Information Technology, Research & Development, and Security sectors for nearly 15 years. Michael is a Certified Information Privacy Professional with a U.S. government concentration (CIPP/G). He is also a Registered Practitioner under the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) framework. Michael serves as vice-chair for the ABA Science & Technology Section’s Homeland Security Committee.

Michael’s legal practice covers a wide range of counseling and litigation engagements at the intersection of government contracts and cybersecurity. His government contracts endeavors include supply chain security counseling, contract disputes with federal entities, suspension and debarment proceedings, mandatory disclosures to the government, prime-subcontractor disputes, and False Claims Act investigations. His privacy and cybersecurity practice includes cybersecurity compliance reviews, risk assessments, data breaches, incident response, and regulatory investigations.