Background

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have become an essential element of national and global economies and our daily lives. Key sectors such as government, financial, education, health, energy, commerce, industry, SMEs, among others, depend on the uninterrupted availability of the Internet and the proper functioning of critical information infrastructures.

However, increased level of connectivity has led to dramatic increase in cybercrime and governmental or non-governmental actors’ attempts to use cyberspace to gain advantage, breaking into other countries’ networks to steal data, seed misinformation or disrupt critical infrastructure. Every country and organization, regardless of size or geographic location, is a potential target. Preparing for and responding to this growing threat is necessary – and it is a whole-of-society responsibility that requires executive leadership and support.

The EU plays an important role as a pathfinder and a role model in building safe digital societies. This role can only be successfully fulfilled if the EU can also internally, at the level of individual officials, recognise and prevent cyber threats.

Objectives

The Cyber Security Awareness seminar will allow European Commission officials to gain insights on emerging cyber challenges. The seminar will focus on threat landscape, malicious actors, challenges to securing cyberspace and building resilience in context of existing and emerging technologies (Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, 5G, Cryptocurrencies, etc.).

Topics of the seminar

The seminar day will consist of four thematic blocks with the main keywords below.

Digital transformation and cyber threat environment.

Cyber security ecosystem & cyber resilience

Cyber Diplomacy

Scenario-based group-work