On 12 November 2018, the Belgian government submitted a Draft Act establishing a framework for the security of network and information systems of general interest for public security, which aims at implementing the Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/1148 of 6 July 2016) (the NIS Directive).
The final text (which only slightly differs from the draft (see our previous ezine)) had been adopted on 7 April 2019 and has been published in the Official Gazette of today.
This Act enters into force today.
As previously mentioned, even though the Act of 7 April 2019 establishing a framework for the security of network and information systems of general interest for public security is a step in the right direction, Belgium is not yet fully ready with the implementation of the NIS Directive. It remains to be seen which companies will be labelled as operators of essential services.
In this respect, Sectoral Authorities must ensure such identification and designation within six months after the entry into force of the law, so by 3 November 2019.
To be continued...
