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Recap

Recap: International Cyber Security

Conference 2024

4th of June 2024 

Improving Cyber Security: Insights and Connections

In the heart of the Netherlands, representatives from almost 100 organisations from various European countries took part in our 4th International Cyber Security Conference.

As our main theme this year “Pandas and Bears“ we delved into the upcoming threats from the East. Russia and China—respectively called Bears and Pandas—loomed large. What risks did they pose to businesses? How could you stay ahead? Our experts had the answers.

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Top Ten Take-aways

Together we looked at how the game of cyber resilience is changed by Pandas and Bears (a reference to the codenames for Chinese and Russian cyber attack groups, such as Stone Panda and Cozy Bear).

Here is the top ten insights you could take away with you:

  1. The Chinese and Russian governments are stepping up their game of cyber attacks as strategic weapons against European businesses and institutions to gain advantage in the geopolitical arena and global markets.
  2. When Europe wants to continue to play an important role on the global stage, it will have to become much more strategical in protecting its digital infrastructure and information.
  3. The new European legislation towards cyber resilience is forcing the topic into the boardroom and into the personal liability of board members.
  4. As advanced attack methods used by nation states are actively being made available towards ‘regular organised cybercrime’ Advanced Persistent Threats (APT’s) will need to be the new benchmark for cyber defense.
  5. Human Risk Management is rapidly increasing in importance, when improving on the prevention of and preparation for cyber breaches.
  6. 70% of participating companies believe that threat intelligence-based crisis management training is the new standard for preparing the organisation for a major breach.
  7. CISO’s and security professionals have an obligation to become better at speaking the language of their business organisations. Too much of their efforts are now lost in translation.
  8. While 65% of the companies attending the conference have been affected by a cyber incident in the supply chain, 68% are not yet able to monitor the security situation of even their most important and critical suppliers.
  9. Organisations will have to proof they have continuous control over their security management to remain seen as trustworthy partners in their supply chains.
  10. Our Artificial Intelligence based innovations have structurally increased our ability to defend, detect and respond on behalf of our clients.

Programme Highlights:

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Keynote: Europe’s Cyber Security Legislation

Bart Groothuis, member of the European Parliament, took center stage. His gaze swept across the audience, emphasising the gravity of our mission. With insights into the genesis of NIS2 and the Cyber Resilience Act, he explored Europe’s philosophy on cyber security. The way forward? A harmonised approach by collaborating EU states to protect our digital landscape.

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Stone Panda Research: ​How Pandas and Bears ​Are Changing The Game​​

Pim Takkenberg, General Manager of Northwave Investigation & Innovation, unveiled their battle-tested strategies. How did Northwave respond to the relentless APTs? Attendees leaned in, hungry for practical solutions. From threat hunting to adaptive defenses, Northwave’s playbook was a beacon for organisations seeking resilience.

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Panel Discussion: Nation State Actors and Cyber Threats

Inge van der Beijl led a riveting discussion. On the panel:

  • Jelle Niemantsverdriet (National Security Officer at Microsoft)
  • Dave Maasland (Owner & CEO at ESET Nederland)
  • Nicolai Wojciechowski (Managing Director at Cogitanda)
  • Christian Reinhardt (Director Sales Enablement at SoSafe)

The room crackled with energy as the panelists dissected the latest threats. Nation state actors—digital chessmasters—loomed large. How could we defend against their moves? Their perspectives were as diverse as the panelists themselves.

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Breakout Sessions: Insights and Practical Tips

  1. Inside Incident Response: From Panic to Control Surviving ransomware criminals and malicious state actors—lessons learned from the trenches.
  2. The Golden Standard: Decoding the Panda Bear How to dissect threats and prepare your organisation. Northwave’s experts shared their playbook.
  3. Navigating NIS2 Compliance: Managing Supply Chain Risks Compliance wasn’t a buzzword—it was survival. Attendees left armed with strategies to secure their ecosystem.

 

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Transformative Impact: AI Investment and Innovation

Jair Santanna, Principal Cybersecurity Researcher at Northwave, stepped forward.

His words echoed: "In order to reduce risks and mitigate the impact of potential threats, more than just AI will be needed in the future. Cyber security in organisations requires a holistic approach where processes, user behaviour, and technologies work together. A year of AI investment—a decade of resilience."

 
 
 
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The Future of Cyber Security: Northwave’s Vision

Northwave‘s CTO Christiaan Ottow closed the day. "Cyber security changes fast" he declared, going on to explain the causes and effects of these changes. Attendees leaned in, captivated. His vision? A risk-based, intel-driven security posture. Organisations must inform themselves on threats, adapt their security measures, and foster a culture of resilience. "NIS2, AI, and human risk management" he concluded, "are here to help us get on top."

 

 

Save the date for our International Cyber Security Conference next year: June 3rd, 2025.

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Let us know your opinion

We hope you found the sessions enlightening and valuable. We would like to receive your feedback about the sessions and the event itself. Please give us your opinion by filling out the survey here.

speakers

These speakers will be sharing their insights into What is Next in cyber security:

Bart-Groothuis

Bart Groothuis

Member of the European Parliament

Bart Groothuis (1981) is a member of the European Parliament on behalf of the Dutch People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), which is part of the liberal political group Renew Europe. He is a member of the Industry, Research and Energy committee and a substitute member for the committee Security and Defence. In parliament, he focuses on cybersecurity, especially in his role as Rapporteur of the NIS II Directive, the energy transition and disinformation & foreign interference. Before Bart became member of the European Parliament in February 2020, he was head cybersecurity for the Dutch Ministry of Defence.

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Pim Takkenberg

General Manager Northwave Investigation and Innovation

Pim Takkenberg is a leading expert in ransomware and digital Chinese state espionage. As the leader of the prestigious National High Tech Crime Unit of the Dutch National Crime Squad he used to work at the forefront of large international police cooperations targeting advanced cybercriminals worldwide. As the leader of the Cyber Intelligence Team of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations he targeted cyber espionage and cyber sabotage by state actors. Currently, in his role as general manager of the international cyber security company Northwave, he strives to reduce digital risks for both organizations and society. 

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Inge Van Der Beijl

Director Innovations

Inge is a human resilience enabler and an expert in threat actor communication. Her goal is to turn people in organisations into human sensors, enabling staff to secure business.She combines a robust scientific basis (degrees in Social & Organisations’ psychology and Change Management) combined with a solid experience at research institute TNO with strong practical skills. She served in the military in Afghanistan and is lead communicator in ransomware incidents. She is Head of Expertise and Director Behaviour and Resilience at Northwave. 

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Christiaan Ottow

CTO at Northwave

Christiaan Ottow MSc. is director of cyber security and CTO at Northwave. Christiaan has a background as ethical hacker, something he started doing at a young age. After having worked as CTO at several cyber security companies, Christiaan has seen the defensive and offensive sides of cyber security and loves to explore and discuss the world of cyber threats, actors and technology. 

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Dr. Jair Santanna

Principal Cybersecurity Researcher

Dr. Jair Santanna is an enthusiastic and passionate Cloud security lead (@Northwave) and an assistant professor (@University of Twente). He is a practical, data-driven and extremely curious person. He loves to spread the knowledge with the scientific community and with cybersecurity practitioners. He prepares his presentations thinking about you (the audience). Therefore, he promises to give an engaging, enthusiastic, and to-the-point presentation. 

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Contact

If you have any questions about the conference or need any kind of assistance, please let us know by sending an email to our conference team:  conference@northwave-cybersecurity.com

Or call our Head Office at:  +31 (0)30 303 1240