Cyber Security Conference
As part of the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2018, and to conclude the Trio Presidency by Estonia, Bulgaria and Austria, the Federal Chancellery organised a cybersecurity conference at the Austria Center Vienna (ACV) in Vienna on 3 and 4 December 2018.
The aim of the conference was to take stock of the developments occurring in the field of cybersecurity over the past 18 months, thus raising awareness of cyber resilience in Europe on both a technical and operational level.
More than 200 participants from relevant stakeholder groups attended the event in Vienna along with representatives from business, industry, science and research from all EU2 member states.
“Digital security is not only a priority of the presidency of the Council of the EU, it is also an important issue for the future in view of the UK’s departure from the EU. We hope to continue working closely together in many areas, one of which is cybersecurity,”
said EU Minister Blümel at the start of the conference.
Taking his cue from the Austrian Presidency’s motto, ‘A Europe that protects’, Federal Minister Gernot Blümel underscored various principles, strategic objectives and activities in the field of cybersecurity.
He noted that the Trio Presidency’s work programme for cybersecurity, which met with broad consensus from the other member states on its first submission, deserved special mention. Thanks to the priorities set out in this work programme, the Council was able to proactively anticipate issues that have ultimately become key components of the EU’s cybersecurity package.
Strategic objectives for the EU, the member states and stakeholders in the field of cybersecurity were discussed in talks, most notably in keynote speeches by Andrus Ansip3, Commissioner for the Digital Single Market, and Julian King4, Commissioner for the Security Union, as well as in panels and open discussions.
State Secretary Karoline Edtstadler carried out a final evaluation of the Austrian Presidency’s priorities in the fields of cybersecurity and digital security.
One initiative that met with particular approval was the specially developed ‘Strategic Cybersecurity Simulation Game’, which uses an interactive survey to simulate decisions in the field of cybersecurity in a playful way.
More information about the event can be found on the event page.
- 1.Van 1 juli tot en met 31 december 2018 vervulde Oostenrijk het voorzitterschap van de Raad van de Europese Unie. Oostenrijk volgde hiermee Bulgarije op. Oostenrijk was al twee keer eerder voorzitter van de Raad, in 1998 en 2006.
- 2.De Europese Unie (EU) is het belangrijkste samenwerkingsverband in Europa. De deelnemende landen hebben voor deze Unie een aantal organisaties opgericht waaraan zij een deel van hun eigen bevoegdheden hebben overgedragen. Dit zijn onder meer het Europees Parlement, de Europese Commissie, de Raad en het Europese Hof van Justitie.
- 3.De Est Andrus Ansip (1956) was van 1 november 2014 tot 2 juli 2019 lid van de Europese Commissie. In de Commissie-Juncker was hij vicevoorzitter en belast met digitale interne markt. Ansip is scheikundige en werkte enige jaren in de financiële wereld als bestuurder van banken en investeringsfondsen. Daarna was hij burgemeester van Tartu. In 2004 werd de liberaal Ansip minister van Economische Zaken en Communicatie. Vanaf 2005 leidde hij enkele coalitiekabinetten. Sinds 2 juli 2019 is hij lid van het Europees Parlement.
- 4.Julian King (1964) was van september 2016 tot 1 december 2019 namens het VK lid van de Europese Commissie belast met de veiligheidsunie. Hij was ambtenaar van het Britse ministerie van Buitelandse Zaken, werkzaam op het gebied van het Europese buitenlands en veiligheidsbeleid, ambtenaar bij de Europese Commissie en directeur-generaal voor Noord-Ierland. Verder was hij Brits ambassadeur in Ierland en Frankrijk.