Cybersecurity should be top priority in politics

Cybersecurity should be given highest priority by politics. Therefore, our country should join forces within the EU and with trusted third countries. With its knowledge and learnings in the field of 6G, cryptography, AI and quantum technology, the Netherlands is well positioned to take the lead here. It is about time to mobilise all parties and resources for this. In order to fully control cybersecurity in no more than ten years, we need to hurry.

Cybersecurity should be a top priority for politics.

That is the main conclusion of the report ‘Cybersecurity and Digital Sovereignty – Bridging the Gaps’ by TNO. The survey shows how the digital sovereignty gap in the field of cybersecurity can be bridged in our country by cooperating in the EU and beyond.

Download the report ‘Cybersecurity and Digital Sovereignty – Bridging the Gaps’.

Setting our future

In the EU, we will have to fully accept this challenge, because strengthening the digital sovereignty around cybersecurity means setting the future of our society, our welfare, our democracy”, says Paul Timmers, main author of the report. He has worked for the European Commission for a long time and is connected to several universities in the EU.

Cooperation in EU and beyond

According to Paul Timmers, complete sovereignty in the area of cybersecurity can only be achieved by cross border and joint actions. Knowledge institutes are well equipped to play an important role in strengthening the strategic autonomy in this field. Governments, both national and those in EU member states, must take up their political responsibilities.

“When it comes to cybersecurity, in essence, we are talking national security. You are supposed to act on national levels, not European-wide nor with long-distance countries. Nevertheless, cooperation is inevitable. If you are willing to cooperate, you will be standing stronger nationally. In that way, you are helping to build a line of defense, genuinely supported by European countries. It is a valuable investment for Europe as a whole. And there are other western but also Asian countries with whom we can make a fist.”

Prioritise risks

The report is partly based on interviews with experts from the industry, politics, research organisations and own analysis by TNO experts. It provides a series of recommendations and specific actions with high ambitions to strengthen the sovereignty in the field of cybersecurity. One of which is prioritising security risks by harmfulness and probability.

TNO-expert Matthijs Punter: “We have created a matrix in which we plotted most probable to least probable security risks against catastrophic to neglectable consequences. In this way, we tempered the discussion about cybersecurity a bit, which tends to get quite black-white. It also provides leads to better assess risks. Some developments may not be a direct threat at this moment, but can have major negative impact in the long term. The matrix helps to make that assessment and respond to threats adequately.”

Public and Private partnerships

According to Claire Stolwijk, fellow researcher, cybersecurity is a multidisciplinary issue in which governments, industry and knowledge institutes have to take up their own roles. To TNO this means learning development, consultancy and playing an orchestrating role to bring several parties together and delivering results together.

“Cybersecurity is fully intertwined in society, from mobile phone to health care, money transfers, defense systems. That is the reason why we urge for public and private partnerships to further develop and scale up cybersecurity solutions. As pioneers in the EU, the Dutch government combined with industry and social partners could set the example in the field of cybersecurity. This cooperation could involve legislation and policy, the application thereof by the industry, encouraging research, development and standardisation, but may also relate to an incentive to skills development, trade and international relations.”

Shifting gears

There are many opportunities in the combination of military and civil domains as well. Paul gives an example by mentioning the possibilities arising from military alliances. In that way, the NATO investment fund DIANA (Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic) offers many opportunities to the Dutch industry.

Paul: “NATO is, for example, interested in how we implemented 5G and took the lead with 6G at European level. Advanced mobile infrastructure is of great importance to our motorways and ports and with that to the logistic operations in NATO actions. There is a NATO fund for investments in startups and scaleups as well. This is by means of alternative, now the market is often reluctant to invest in a startup’s growth. Ample opportunities for our innovative industry to cooperate with national and international partners for making a difference. But we should hurry. To strengthen our digital sovereignty in cybersecurity, we need to be shifting gears fast.