Pierluigi Paganini July 02, 2016

The United Kingdom has approved the Brexit, the decision of its citizen of leaving the Europe. Which are the first effects on cyber security?

The reality behind the breakaway of the UK in the Brexit referendum vote after nearly 43 years as part of the European Union has caused many to fear the falling value of the pound and the increasing cost of security.  Lionel Barbar editor of the Financial Times predicts that the first two quarters could face recession due to the post economic financial stress.

The cyber aspect of needed security in this realm is adamant in light of the new break from the union.  Cyber security has always been a major test but some are worried that cybercrime will expand as a result of this action. For example it could affect information sharing laws that were already in existence and halt the current practices if the laws are not re-enacted in a timely manner.

The breakaway could put a strain on the ability of the agencies to protect the citizens from cyber-attacks. The expectations are that cybercrime will be on the rise and information sharing will be reduced.  It’s also likely to affect the recruitment of talented technical professionals and wreak havoc in the regulatory compliance divisions.

The General Data Protection Regulation “GDPR” is scheduled to update their regulations which unify and strengthen existing laws for EU citizens.  The new regulations are likely to be strict on 3^rd party monitoring of data.   In addition, the Information Commissioner’s Office “ICO” will force the UK to adopt the GDPR.

The Network and Security Directive “NISD” plays a timely role as well: It is not a regulation; therefore each Member State will have to craft legislation in order for it to become a law. Member states will have a total of 21 months to implement the directives into laws and an additional 6 months to identify essential services to mitigate cyber risks.

The first known offense happened on Monday where an online petition for second EU referendum was hijacked and more than 77,000 votes were added.  There is also huge amount of uncertainty, as to the impact on work visas for non-UK residents as this is likely to dampen the appeal.

The other potential concern is for organized crime to run rapid in this slack environment.  The EU Cybersecurity Strategy coupled with the creation the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) is focused on protecting the European Union.  The UK could foresee new challenges since its isolation from the European Union.  It is highly likely that the EU and UK will need to collaborate to create new cybersecurity legislative policy with high priority on information and asset sharing structures.

About the Author Theresa Frush:

Theresa Frush is a former AmeriCorps Vista Fellow who served as a Special Projects Coordinator amongst various federal agencies.  Ms. Frush was instrumental in the development and implementation of strategic planning geared towards the partnership building required to coordinate and mitigate the effects of natural disasters.  Ms. Frush specialized in organized disaster planning, roundtable discussions and mock exercises to coordinate the mobilization of volunteers and the appropriate allocation of resources and supplies for special needs groups.

Ms. Frush was also the co-founder of Chesapeake Youth Summit, whereby she provide training and opportunities for r effective dialogue and civic engagement between government, law enforcement  and military agencies aimed at the reduction of recidivism among low income youth population

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Edited by Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – Brexit, cybersecurity)