Network Security Advisory Board

The Network Security Advisory Board—or, to use its official name, the Advisory Board for Security in Electronic Communications Networks—is established at the Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (Rundfunk und Telekom Regulierungs-GmbH; RTR) pursuant to Art. 45 Par. 7 of the Telecommunications Act 2021 (TKG 2021). RTR chairs the Advisory Board, manages its affairs and acts as its secretariat. The Advisory Board’s responsibilities are:

1. To advise the Federal Minister for Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport on general aspects of security in electronic communications networks; and
2. To prepare expert opinions in proceedings to classify a manufacturer of network components (hardware and software) as a high-risk supplier within the meaning of Art. 45 Par. 4 TKG 2021.

The Advisory Board consists of the chairperson and twelve members. These members are appointed by the Federal Government for a term of four years. In making these appointments, the Federal Government must give due consideration to nominations for one member each from the following officeholders or organisations: the Federal Chancellor; the Federal Minister for Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport; the Federal Minister for the Interior; the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs; the Federal Minister for Economy, Energy and Tourism; the Federal Minister for National Defence; the Federal Minister for Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection; the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber; the Federal Chamber of Labour; the Federation of Austrian Industries; the national Computer Emergency Response Team; and Austrian Institute of Technology. The members nominated by the national Computer Emergency Response Team and Austrian Institute of Technology must possess relevant technical expertise in information security.

To fulfil the responsibility set out in point 1, the Advisory Board must, in particular, continuously monitor security-related technological developments in components of electronic communications networks or in services for such networks, both within and outside the European Union. The Advisory Board must report its observations to the Federal Minister for Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport regularly, and at least once a year, in an “Observation Report”.

When preparing an expert opinion under point 2, the Advisory Board must also take into account, in its assessment, compliance with general rule-of-law standards in the third countries under observation, as well as the technical and economic implications for existing electronic communications networks in Austria and their operators.

The Observation Reports published to date are available for download on the RTR website in abridged TLP:CLEAR versions approved for public release.