New EU Cyber Law Faces Delayed Adoption as Many Nations Miss Deadline

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The European Union’s new cybersecurity directive, NIS 2, which sets higher standards for companies to strengthen their cybersecurity defenses, has encountered a rough start. Many EU member states have yet to adopt the rules into national law, missing the key enforcement deadline, according to a report from the DNS Research Federation.

NIS 2, short for the Network and Information Security Directive 2, became enforceable across the bloc on Thursday, requiring companies to enhance risk management, transparency, and business continuity planning in the event of a cyberattack. However, the slow pace of adoption by EU countries means that enforcement of the directive is expected to be inconsistent.

Portugal and Bulgaria are two of the countries that have yet to begin incorporating NIS 2 into their legal frameworks, raising concerns about their cybersecurity readiness. Many other EU countries are at various stages of implementing the law, creating disparities across the region.

NIS 2 was designed to update the original NIS directive, addressing more recent cybersecurity challenges. It expands its reach to cover essential service providers, including banks, energy suppliers, health care institutions, internet providers, and waste management services. The directive also introduces stricter reporting requirements, with firms now having just 24 hours to notify authorities of a cyber breach.

The directive mandates businesses to thoroughly vet technology vendors for cyber vulnerabilities and to share information on security issues with other organizations, even if that means disclosing their own breaches. Non-compliance can result in hefty fines—up to 10 million euros ($10.9 million) or 2% of global annual revenue for essential entities, such as transport and financial firms. For important businesses, like food and chemical companies, the penalties could reach 7 million euros or 1.4% of global revenue.

The effectiveness of NIS 2 will depend heavily on consistent implementation across EU member states, according to Tim Wright, a partner and technology lawyer at Fladgate. Gaps in adoption could lead cybercriminals to target countries that lag behind or smaller vendors within the supply chain, he warned.

Businesses have been preparing for the directive’s stricter cybersecurity measures, but inconsistencies in national laws have created additional challenges, particularly for smaller organizations with fewer resources. Chris Gow, Cisco’s EU public policy lead, recommended that companies focus on identifying common security controls that can help them comply with the directive despite these discrepancies.

Carl Leonard, EMEA cybersecurity strategist at Proofpoint, emphasized that NIS 2 establishes clear risk management expectations, including leadership accountability and incident handling. The penalties, which include not only fines but also possible service suspensions and increased supervision, are meant to compel organizations responsible for critical infrastructure to take cybersecurity threats more seriously.

 

TSMC Reports 54% Profit Surge Amid AI Boom, Beating Expectations

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, announced on Thursday a significant 54% increase in net profit for the third quarter, largely driven by rising demand for AI-related applications. The company posted a net income of 352.3 billion Taiwanese dollars (approximately $10.1 billion) for the July-September period, surpassing an estimated 300.2 billion Taiwanese dollars, according to LSEG data.

TSMC, which counts major technology companies such as Apple and Nvidia among its clients, saw its net revenue climb to $23.5 billion in the third quarter, marking a 36% year-on-year increase. The company’s gross margin also improved, rising to 57.8%, compared to 54.3% in the same period the previous year.

“Our business was supported by strong smartphone and AI-related demand for our industry-leading 3nm and 5nm technologies,” TSMC stated, reflecting the growing global reliance on advanced semiconductors for AI and mobile applications.

In addition to its impressive profit, TSMC’s shares, listed on the Taipei Stock Exchange, have surged nearly 75% year-to-date, highlighting strong investor confidence in the company’s future growth prospects amid the AI-driven semiconductor boom.

Capital expenditure for TSMC edged slightly higher during the third quarter, reaching $6.4 billion, up from $6.36 billion in the previous three months. This increase reflects the company’s ongoing efforts to expand its production capabilities, especially to meet rising demand from the U.S. market.

In line with its global expansion strategy, TSMC is investing $40 billion to construct two chip plants in Arizona, part of its broader commitment to meet U.S. semiconductor needs. Additionally, the company opened its first manufacturing facility in Japan earlier this year.

TSMC’s positive results contrast with recent news from ASML, a key supplier of chip-making equipment to TSMC, which issued a lower-than-expected sales forecast, sending its shares down. Despite such concerns, the AI boom continues to fuel optimism, though some market watchers question the long-term sustainability of this growth. Notably, Foxconn’s CEO, Young Liu, commented last week that the AI frenzy “still has some time to go,” suggesting that advancements in AI models will continue to drive the demand for cutting-edge semiconductors.

 

Georgia Judge Strikes Down Pro-Trump Election Rule Changes

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A Georgia judge on Wednesday overturned controversial changes to the state’s election rules made by the Republican-led election board, marking a setback for pro-Trump allies ahead of the upcoming U.S. presidential election on November 5. The rules, introduced as “election security measures,” were opposed by Democrats, who argued they aimed to hinder certification of election results in a critical battleground state.

Judge Thomas Cox, in his ruling, declared the half-dozen new rules unlawful, stating they conflicted with existing state election laws. The new provisions, which included empowering local officials to investigate voting irregularities and review extensive election documents before certifying results, were deemed to exceed the board’s legal authority. Cox ordered the election board to remove the rules immediately and notify local officials of their invalidity.

“The rules at issue exceed or are in conflict with specific provisions of the Election Code. Thus, the challenged rules are unlawful and void,” Cox wrote in his 11-page decision.

Although Cox’s ruling is final, it can still be appealed. However, the immediate impact is that the rules, seen by many as efforts to delay or block the certification of election results, will no longer be in place as the state enters a crucial voting period. Early voting in Georgia began this week with record turnout, as the state is expected to play a pivotal role in deciding the outcome of the presidential race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

Cox’s decision marks the third judicial loss in Georgia in just two days for Trump’s allies. On Tuesday, another judge temporarily halted a rule requiring hand counting of ballots and upheld the mandate for county officials to certify election results.

The case was brought by Eternal Vigilance Action, a Republican-founded advocacy group, on constitutional grounds, challenging the election board’s power to impose the rule changes. The group argued that the new rules overstepped legal boundaries and disrupted Georgia’s established election processes.

The rule changes would have allowed county election boards to investigate discrepancies between the number of ballots cast and voters registered in each precinct. The board’s vote on the rules passed by a 3-2 margin, with the support of three Trump allies, fueling concerns that these measures were designed to influence the outcome of the certification process. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, criticized the changes, calling them last-minute and damaging to voter confidence.

The Democratic National Committee also filed a separate lawsuit, arguing that the new rules would effectively give county officials the power to block certification of election results under the guise of investigating irregularities. They highlighted that election certification is a mandatory process under state law, and other legal avenues exist to address disputed results.

Judge Cox’s ruling has temporarily alleviated concerns that certification delays or refusals could influence the November election outcome, which is expected to be a closely contested race between Harris and Trump. Trump’s continued false claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election have led to intensified efforts by his supporters to change state-level voting rules. In Georgia, where Trump lost to Biden in 2020, these rule changes were seen as another attempt to cast doubt on the legitimacy of election results.

The Georgia election board’s efforts drew bipartisan criticism, with Republican officials like Raffensperger opposing the changes. Democrats, meanwhile, accused Republicans in various states of attempting to delay or prevent certification in elections where the results might not favor Trump. Wednesday’s court decision adds to the mounting legal defeats facing Trump-aligned efforts to alter election procedures.