Cyber Incident Classification
27
FRANCE’S SYSTEM
France uses a similar system although it includes a comparison of
its criteria to those used in the US system, has set criteria for impact
(ranging from negligible to extreme) and assesses the incident against
whether it constitutes an armed attack as per Article 51 of the UN Charter. A colour (white to red) and numbering (0-5) scheme is used to assign
priority to the incident.
GRAVITY SCALE
EQUIVALENCE WITH
THE US CISS
IMPACTS
LEVEL 5 - EXTREME
EMERGENCY
Level 5 Emergency
(Black)
Extreme Impact
LEVEL 4 - MAJOR
CRISIS
Level 4 Severe (Red)
Major Impact
LEVEL 3 - CRISIS
Level 3 High (Orange)
Strong and Extensive
Impact
LEVEL 2 - SERIOUS
INCIDENT
Level 2 Medium
(Yellow)
Strong and
circumscribed impact
LEVEL 1B - INCIDENT
LEVEL 1A SIGNIFICANT EVENT
LEVEL 0 - EVENT
Level 1 Low (Green)
Level 0 Baseline
(White)
Medium and
circumscribed impact
Low impact
Negligible Impact
CHARACTERIZATION
AS ARMED
AGGRESSION WITHIN
THE MEANING OF
ARTICLE 51 OF THE
UNITED NATIONS
Probably possible: to be
considered on a case by
case basis.
Probably not possible:
actions corresponding
to these levels could
nonetheless constitute
other internationally
wrongful acts
(intervention, violation
of sovereignty, use of
force, etc.).
Source: http://www.sgdsn.gouv.fr/uploads/2018/02/20180206-np-revue-cyber-public-v3.3-publication.pdf
CYBERSECURITY INCIDENT TAXONOMY’S SYSTEM
In some cases, the incident classification system is often based on the
CIT, developed by the NIS Cooperation Group.7 The approach is
structured around the nature of the incident (i.e., the underlying
cause that triggered the incident); severity of the incident (from low
to high); impact of the incident (i.e., the affected services,
sectors); the scale of the impact nationally, for economy and society
7 European Union, Cybersecurity Incident Taxonomy, NIS Cooperation Group, CG
Publication 04/2018 https://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/image/document/2018-30/cybersecurity_incident_taxonomy_00CD828C-F851-AFC4-0B1B416696
B5F710_53646.pdf