House of Representatives: government may share threat information with non-vital companies

The Dutch House of Representatives has approved the Promoting Digital Resilience of Companies bill or Wbdwb. This law makes it possible for the government to share information about vulnerabilities, threats and incidents with non-vital companies.

Information about vulnerabilities, threats and incidents may currently only be shared with target groups. that fall under the Network and Information Systems Security Act. These are, for example, vital organizations such as banks or water supply companies and the central government. The government may not share such information with other companies and organizations, even if the government has information about specific threats, for example.

The Wbdwb is an important condition for non-vital Dutch companies to be able to warn about digital vulnerabilities and security breaches, says the Digital Trust Center. This government organization must be given the opportunity by law to share information with non-vital organizations. “When alerting individual companies and organizations, personal data can be processed, such as IP addresses and contact details of a company's employees. The bill provides the legal basis for carrying out these tasks.”

The bill was adopted by a large majority in the House of Representatives. Before the law is finally adopted, the Senate must still approve it. It is not yet known when the Senate will discuss the bill.