Framework decision 2005/222 - Attacks against information systems - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 69/67

The objective of this Framework Decision is to improve cooperation between judicial and other competent authorities, including the police and other specialised law enforcement services of the Member States, through approximating rules on criminal law in the Member States in the area of attacks against information systems.

There is evidence of attacks against information systems, in particular as a result of the threat from organised crime, and increasing concern at the potential of terrorist attacks against information systems which form part of the critical infrastructure of the Member States. This constitutes a threat to the achievement of a safer information society and an area of freedom, security and justice, and therefore requires a response at the level of the European Union.

An effective response to those threats requires a comprehensive approach to network and information security, as underlined in the eEurope Action Plan, in the Communication by the Commission ‘Network and Information Security: Proposal for a European Policy Approach’ and in the Council Resolution of 28 January 2002 on a common approach and specific actions in the area of network and information security (2).

The need to further increase awareness of the problems related to information security and provide practical assistance has also been stressed in the European Parliament Resolution of 5 September 2001.

Significant gaps and differences in Member States’ laws in this area may hamper the fight against organised crime and terrorism, and may complicate effective police and judicial cooperation in the area of attacks against information systems. The transnational and borderless character of modern information systems means that attacks against such systems are often trans-border in nature, thus underlining the urgent need for further action to approximate criminal laws in this area.

The Action Plan of the Council and the Commission on how to best implement the provisions of the Treaty of Amsterdam on an area of freedom, security and justice (3), the Tampere European Council on 15 to 16 October 1999, the Santa Maria da Feira European Council on 19 to 20 June 2000, the Commission in the ‘Scoreboard’ and the European Parliament in its Resolution of 19 May 2000 indicate or call for legislative action against high technology crime, including common definitions, incriminations and sanctions.

It is necessary to complement the work performed by international organisations, in particular the Council of Europe’s work on approximating criminal law and the G8’s work on transnational cooperation in the area of high tech crime, by providing a common approach in the European Union in this area. This call was further elaborated by the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on ‘Creating a Safer Information Society by Improving the Security of Information Infrastructures and Combating Computer-related Crime’.

Criminal law in the area of attacks against information systems should be approximated in order to ensure the greatest possible police and judicial cooperation in the area of criminal offences related to attacks against information systems, and to contribute to the...