October 2-5, Cyberly celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the NIS directive in the Hague, the city of peace and justice. The core of the program was the ONE Conference, which is an exclusive yearly event that inspires cross-border cooperation between cybersecurity professionals from business, science and government organizations. The theme of this year was “We are all connected” – as cybersecurity matters more than ever.
Around the conference, Business Sweden and Cyberly arranged a business program in cooperation with the Dutch Innovation Quarter and Security Delta, to visit organizations like Europol and the Swedish Embassy, as well as to open for business opportunities for the three member companies who joined: Link22, UCS Cyber Security and Sectra Communications.
Daniel Lester; Business Area Manager, Link22:
Travelling with the Cyber Security Swedish delegation to the Netherlands was both informative and beneficial to link22. The delegation began its trip with a comprehensive and real time understanding of the cybersecurity landscape within the Netherlands.
Cyberly paired insightful meetings with cyber security experts with immersive site visits which provided invaluable insights into the cutting-edge developments within the field. On top of this, networking opportunities were exceptional allowing us to connect with fellow professionals and experts from both the Netherlands and the EU on all topic’s cybersecurity. Cyberly provided an environment to allow for potential collaborations and partnerships to develop that will undoubtedly benefit our industry.
Henrik Krohn; CEO, UCS Cyber Security:
I enjoyed the day at the Dutch Security Delta (HSD) which allowed us an insight into how they operate their cyber-hub; as well as the visit to the Hack-the-Hague event. The ONE Conference was an eye opener with its electric atmosphere; all the technologies and passionate people sharing the interest to make the world a safer place.
What impressed me the most was how companies and researchers cooperate to fight cyber threats. The discussions and presentations around current threats, ransomware attacks, IoT vulnerabilities and the common interest to find solutions. Sharing knowledge between parties was a reminder that this is a joint venture which requires cooperation.
It was also inspiring to see how much focus was on education and awareness; educating users to secure practice, minimising vulnerabilities among companies and people in general. A great trip with a lot of new knowledge, inspiration and ideas!
What the Cluster Leader picked up from the conference:
During the two days of the conference, themes ranged from EU legislation and harmonisation that was said to be impossible 20 years ago but is now becoming requested by member countries; to cyber-attacks, which have increased progressively and become a commonality these days. One example is the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), where focus is on the supply chain and another NIS 2, which focuses on cooperation, reporting and coordination aiming to make crisis management more efficient.
Jaya Baloo was a fresh breeze (or a storm, rather) as she questioned the regulations: Does transparency always mean security? Do we want to blame the person who is fighting for security?? What does the CRA mean for open source? And why do we rely on volunteer hackers to save us?
Another theme was the Metaverse and our bodies becoming digitalised, which means that, for example, our eyes that give away a lot of signals and our unconscious responses generate valuable data. This allows for unprecedented profiling and anonymity no longer being possible, but also our own signals being outside of our control.
On the other hand, it was said that we need to demystify cybersecurity via contextualisation, engagement and legislation. It is part of life just as the seatbelt in our car. Several speakers spoke of people being the weakest link; hence motivation, knowledge and opportunity being important when people use technology. Awareness also about that it is my responsibility and what I do really matters.
Other popular themes of the many break-out sessions were the turnover to AI and quantum happening in times of political rivalry. Seeking information about persons is also frequently driven by geopolitics. The quantum is the way to make things right. But China is leading on quantum computers, and we may see a Krypto apocalypse in a few years. Also, cyber capabilities are becoming increasingly available, more actors can buy them, even the evil ones.
Ransomware is still the no 1. Cybercrime business model – tactics evolve towards ransomware as a service, opportunistic about victims, logistics or healthcare, where impact is huge and costly. We need systems and people working together across barriers to get across this challenge. Balance between technical and sector knowledge is necessary, so let us grow the cyber ecosystem – the mix of minds and teaming up will help us, the adversaries do not work that way!
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