“MAKING EUROPE SAFER. A new cybersecurity strategy to build trust and resilience”. This is the title of the VideoTalk held on 27 January by the Institute for Competitiveness, with guest speaker Lorena Boix Alonso, Director ‘Digital Society, Trust and Cybersecurity’, DG CNECT, European Commission.
The VideoTalk was opened with a speech by I-Com President Stefano da Empoli. The main speaker, Lorena Boix Alonso, then took the floor. There followed an open debate moderated by Mattia Ceracchi, I-Com Head of EU Affairs, before Ms Boix Alonso’s closing remarks.
Bringing together EU and national institution representatives, companies, research and business organisations, trade and consumer associations and other relevant stakeholders, the event offered a forum to take stock of the European strategy for Cybersecurity, published last May by the Commission as a part of its key policy objective to make “Europe fit for the digital age” as well as in line with the objectives of the Security Union Strategy. It also offered a forum for a first round of comments on the newly revised NIS Directive, following the consultation opened on July and closed on October 2020. The event was also the opportunity for a stakeholder discussion on how COVID-19 crisis has also reshaped our notion of safety and how to address future challenges concerning critical infrastructures and users’ security online.
What actions can be taken by the EU authorities to defend the cybersecurity of citizens and businesses? Are recovery plan investments sufficient to address the EU’s cybersecurity ambitions? Has the concept of European technological sovereignty, proposed by the Von der Leyen Commission, evolved significantly due to the COVID-19 crisis? How can the new EU cybersecurity strategy contribute to strengthening the EU’s technological sovereignty? These and other questions emerged from the discussion.
