Description (short summary):
Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) are crucial in cross border co-ordination of computer incidents and in order to perform their important role they need to exchange information. Cross border information exchange requires complex legal factors to be considered. CERTs in different countries have differing legal grounds to request from and transmit information to other teams. Furthermore, the information exchanged might be personal data and therefore subject to specific privacy provisions. In addition, CERTs, including national/governmental CERTs, have varying mandates. 

This study focuses on the legal and regulatory aspects of information sharing and cross-border collaboration of national/governmental CERTs in Europe and performs an assessment of what effects these aspects have on cross-border information sharing between CERTs.  

The conclusion is that there exists a delicate balance of investigating, managing and mitigating computer incidents, whilst respecting rights and obligations provided by certain legal and regulatory frameworks, including data protection, data retention and privacy provisions. 

Number of pages: 86