Analysis of cybersecurity standards, operations, and technical laws in the E.U and North American contexts.

Due to a rise in cyberattacks in the world, the importance of having methods of countering and preventing these incidents has been evident. Laws and procedures which clearly outline how a country or organization responds to attacks have been introduced over the years. Through mainstream media, social media, academic documents etc. various cybercrimes have been reported. Some of which have had dire effects on the victims. Even though with laws and procedures in place to counter these attacks, a certain percentage of cyber criminals have been successful in carrying out illegal cyberattacks. Hence the laws and procedures are not always watertight. Standard Operating Procedures have been seen to be useful in giving organizations and countries efficient steps in countering cyberattacks. Countries and organizations have seen the importance of constantly updating and upgrading the procedures and laws to prevent attacks. The procedures are called cybersecurity standard operating procedures or C.S.O.Ps. These C.S.O. Ps, hand in hand with cyber laws of the land are efficient tools in preventing cyberattacks. Various cybersecurity standardized operating procedures and laws were examined with the main goal of evaluating how they are implemented in the event of an attack. Furthermore, the procedures and laws were also compared, to deduct their similarities and discrepancies in the two regions (Europe and North America) of the world in question, in the event of attacks. In North America and Europe, the question is whether the two continents approach their cybersecurity matters differently or if they approach them in a similar way. The continents as expected are bound by various cybersecurity agencies. A key aspect is exploring as well, how these agencies protect their respective cyberspaces. The Cybersecurity agencies are understood to have a way they develop S.O. Ps, and it is analyzed if their approaches vary greatly or if they're similar. After taking note of the various Standard Operating Procedures and deducing how they're implemented in the two regions of the world. By some case studies are analyzed. The two case studies have occurred in the recent past and each are from the two continents under consideration. The First case study will be that of the cyber-attack on the Ukraine grid systems in 2015 and the second case study to be analyzed will be about the WannaCry cyberattack which occurred in 2017(mainly affecting the North American region). The case studies will be scrutinized with the aim of noticing how the cyberspaces were infiltrated, how this infiltration could have been prevented and the damage of the infiltration. After answering those three questions it'll also be analyzed how Standard Operating Procedures and technical laws played a role in the cyberattacks. At the end of the analysis an opinion will be given with the aim of suggesting how Standard Operating Procedures could have been implemented differently to counter the attacks if possible. In the opinions, the application of technical laws will also be looked at with the task of checking if the technical laws were applicable in these incidents and what could have been done differently to aid the applicability of the technical laws. After looking at the respective case studies and Standard Operating Procedures in North America and Europe, suggestions will be made about the key findings. From the key findings relevant suggestions will play a pivotal role in securing the ever-evolving cyberspace. To conclude the study, a summary will be made, which will look at all key aspects of the thesis indicating everything that would have been discovered in the study when it comes to analyzing about Standard Operating Procedures and technical laws in the European and North American contexts. Future suggestions and implementations will also be looked at which fall under the summary with the purpose of showcasing how the cyberspace can be more secure at a broader level.