Cybersecurity and Europe. Friend or enemy?

Traditionally, the Netherlands is the trading country that tinkers with a situation until profits flow out. The current geopolitical situation in combination with high-quality technological innovations demands an increase in awareness. Until a few years ago we could afford a dose of naivety, but now the world has changed.

Cyber Safe Netherlands focuses in depth and sees a world in which we can no longer afford the luxury of naivety. The East and the West each pose a real threat to our (digital) society in their own way and it is highly questionable whether the Netherlands can continue to quietly skim profits by appealing to 'neutrality'.

Threats

“We are dependent on specific technologies for which we have no alternative,” Liesbeth summarizes part of the problem. The Russian and Chinese threat to our digital society is of a different order, but at least as relevant. “This situation is potentially disruptive to society.”

“This means that on the one hand we should not be naive and on the other hand we should develop alternatives.” This includes systems developed in-house so that the Netherlands has knowledge and expertise in-house. Or that we take precautions in the event that large systems (for example Windows) fail.

Geographically, espionage and sabotage threaten us from the East. And the main threat from the West is our dependence on technologies. When you look at the map now, Europe, and therefore the Netherlands, is exactly in the middle. Or as Liesbeth puts it: “we are in the middle of the punching bag.”

“We were lulled to sleep until 2018,” says Liesbeth. But with some relief she sees the awareness and discussion about 'digital autonomy' slowly growing in Europe and the Netherlands. One of the changes she would like to see is intensification of mutual cooperation between the business community, universities and the government. According to Liesbeth, there is still a lot to be gained here.

Alternatives

In addition to this awareness campaign, Cyber Safe Netherlands also focuses on education. A spearhead is that cyber security is part of the curriculum across all courses. Cyber security is at least as relevant for car mechanics as it is for bank employees. But bus drivers are also confronted with cyber security and need to know what to do when the organization is affected by a system error, cyber threat or attack.

“Cyber Safe Netherlands encourages awareness that digitalization is part of your work, but also that everyone realizes that making the Netherlands safe and keeping it safe plays an explicit role in everything we do.”

This is where the challenge lies for us: how do we work around failing systems as quickly and efficiently as possible? We need alternatives that can mitigate or even circumvent potential social disruptions.