EU Moves Forward with Single Entry Point for GDPR and Security Incident Reports
The European Parliament has highlighted progress toward creating a Single Entry Point (SEP) for security incident reporting across the European Union. This initiative is part of the European Commission’s Digital Omnibus legislative package, aiming to simplify the process for organizations that need to report security incidents, including personal data breaches, under various EU laws.
The SEP will be a centralized digital platform managed by ENISA, the EU Agency for Cybersecurity. It will allow organizations to submit incident notifications required by multiple EU regulations such as GDPR, NIS2, DORA, and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) through a single interface. This approach replaces the current system where organizations must report separately to different national authorities, reducing complexity and improving efficiency.
It is important to note that the SEP will not change the existing rules on what incidents must be reported or the deadlines for notification, except for one key update: the GDPR personal data breach notification deadline will be extended from 72 to 96 hours. ENISA will act as a forwarding entity, sending the reports to the relevant national or EU authorities for further action. If the SEP platform is temporarily unavailable, organizations will still need to use alternative reporting methods.
The European Parliament expects the SEP to be operational within 18 months after the Digital Omnibus package becomes law, with a possible extension of up to two years if more time is needed to ensure the platform’s security and functionality. Organizations subject to EU data protection and security reporting obligations should stay informed about these developments and prepare for the impact a centralized reporting system may have on their incident response procedures.
