On Wednesday, the deputy defence minister participated in the debate of the leaders of the European Cybersecurity Forum - CYBERSEC. The meeting, which took place in Brussels, was also attended by experts from the administration of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO), international organizations, expert communities and global leaders in the IT industry.

Tomasz Zdzikot, Deputy Minister and Plenipotentiary of the Ministry of Defence for the security of cyberspace and co-author of the cyber.mil.pl program took part in a discussion on, inter alia, Defence industry and the future of cyber security in the EU. The deputy minister presented the assumptions of the cyber.mil.pl program, which was launched this year in the Ministry of National Defence.

- In February we launched the program cyber.mil.pl, which comprehensively develops Poland's ability to fight threats in cyberspace. We want to strengthen every pillar of the cyber security ecosystem at the Ministry of National Defence. (...) We must be open. For the first time MON took part in one of the largest hackathons in the world. Immediately after it, dozens of people willing to work in the area of ​​cybersecurity in the Ministry of National Defence reported to us - said the Secretary of State in the National Defence Ministry.

Referring to the details of the new Defence Ministry's project, Deputy Minister Zdzikot pointed out that the program assumes, among others, consolidation of institutions dealing with cybersecurity in the Ministry, enriching the educational offer and launching a cyber component in the Territorial Defence Forces. He also reminded that investing in people is one of the most important issues in building potential in the area of ​​cyber security.

 

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The main topics of individual discussion panels of the conference "CYBERSEC Brussels Leaders' Foresight 2019" were based on recommendations developed during the 4th European Cybersecurity Forum - CYBERSEC, which took place in 2018 in Krakow.

One of the goals of the conference is to work to strengthen the synergy between cybersecurity strategies of the EU, NATO and member countries. During the meeting, the key and most current challenges in the security of digital transformation were addressed.

The meeting in Brussels was also an opportunity to discuss the latest and most important achievements in the field of cyber security and areas for further development of EU and NATO policy in this area.

The main objective of the "CYBERSEC Brussels Leaders' Foresight 2019" conference is to develop proactive recommendations on how to manage, support the evidence-based decision-making process and develop cybersecurity policy in the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance.

 

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CYBERSEC Brussels Leaders' Foresight is a meeting during which activities aimed at increasing European readiness in the area of ​​cyber security and promoting the development of a competitive IT industry are discussed. The first edition of the conference took place in 2018. In 2019, apart from the edition in Brussels, the Kosciuszko Institute plans to organize a new format for the first time as part of the CYBERSEC conference in Washington.

 

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CYBER.MIL.PL is a program of the Ministry of National Defence, whose aim is to increase the security of the state and citizens in cyberspace. It covers two strategic areas. Firstly, comprehensive support for the formation of cyberspace defence forces, and secondly, integration of the cybersecurity environment of the Ministry of National Defence. On the basis of the Cybernetic Operations Center, the Cyberspace Defence Forces will be formed. In the new unit, the number of jobs will be increased three times. The task of forming troops was entrusted to the newly appointed plenipotentiary for the creation of Cyberspace Defence Forces.

Effective defence in cyberspace is based on the work of highly qualified specialists and modern IT infrastructure. To ensure Poland's digital sovereignty, it is also necessary to conduct research and development works using its own resources. Having unique and inaccessible for aggressors programming solutions is an advantage in the case of threats in cyberspace, which are now rubbing against the threshold of war.