ENISA agrees deal to access restricted documents

Deal will facilitate the flow of information into the agency, and to its staff in the field

The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) has agreed a deal with the EU Commission's Security Directorate that allows it to access restricted documents.

Documents classified as 'restricted' are those which would cause 'undesireable effects' if made publicly available. This is one level above 'unclassified', and one below 'confidential', which would cause damage to national security if publicly available.

In its release, ENISA said that the deal would also ensure it applies correct security standards to EU information under its jurisdiction.

"This [deal] gives the Agency formal access to these documents and ensures that the Agency applies the common EU basic principles and standards internally to protect European Union Classified Information (EUCI), when classifying information."

The Security Directorate is tasked with reponding to security emergencies, raising security awareness among EU staff, investigating illegal acts on EU premises and implementing data security measures to ensure the secure transfer of information within and without the European Commission.

Last month, ENISA released a report criticising EU member states for being slow to implement national cyber security strategies.