Getting Critical: Making Sense of the EU Cybersecurity Framework for Cloud Providers

Abstract: In this chapter, we review how the EU cybersecurity regulatory framework impacts providers of cloud computing services. We examine the evolving regulatory treatment of cloud services as an enabler of the EU's digital economy and question whether all cloud services should be treated as critical infrastructure. Further, we look at how the safeguarding and incident notification obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation ('GDPR') and the Network and Information Systems Directive ('NISD') apply to cloud providers. We also consider the proposed revision of the NISD and look at newly developed voluntary assurance mechanisms for cloud providers, including codes of conduct and certification schemes. We conclude that, since cloud providers are typically subject to both NISD and GDPR and to the jurisdiction of multiple regulators, they face divergent regulatory approaches, which can lead to unintended outcomes and high compliance costs.