International Cyber Security Summer School 2024 Kicks Off in The Hague

The ninth edition of the International Cyber Security Summer School (ICSSS) kicked off today in The Hague. 60 students, PhDs, and young professionals from more than 23 countries will gain knowledge this week through lectures and challenges on the hottest cyber security topics. This summer school is organised annually by the national security cluster Security Delta (HSD) in collaboration with many partners, including Europol, NCI Agency, Leiden University. The aim of the programme is to contribute to attracting and developing future cyber talent.

The Hague: City of Security, Peace and Justice

Jan van Zanen, mayor of The Hague, welcomed participants to the city via a video message, emphasising the importance of (digital) security and access to sufficient talent in this field. He is proud that The Hague, as City of Peace, Justice (and security), can contribute to its development. He added that the city is ideally suited for cyber talent to work on the topic of security due to the activity already there. This year, the city is also celebrating the fact that the first Peace Conference took place 125 years ago, giving the city the image of City of Peace and Law.

Participants were then welcomed by Assistant Professor Cyber Security Governance Els de Busser of Leiden University, which opened the doors of one of its locations in The Hague to participants today. She underlined the importance of interdisciplinarity within the cyber security domain, and the value of diverse perspectives and backgrounds in this.

Diversity in backgrounds and topics

The cyber security field is very diverse. Therefore, the participants are not only selected from many different countries, but their backgrounds are also diverse. With backgrounds ranging between technology, policy, law and business, there is something for everyone to learn and add during the programme and in the group assignments.

During the six-day programme, the participants will learn about cyber risk and threat management, post-quantum cryptography, the responsible application of artificial intelligence (AI), and the human factor within cybersecurity, among other topics. Participants are challenged to come up with innovative solutions to current issues offered by Leiden University, Accenture, Cyber Resilience Centre Greenport, De Nederlandsche Bank and Booz Allen Hamilton.

An HR event will also take place again this year, where this new generation of cyber experts will meet professionals from the field in order to discuss career opportunities and make matches.

Joris den Bruinen, managing director Security Delta (HSD): ‘Collaboration is crucial to realise new solutions that help make our society safer - both digitally and physically. The demand for new talent to make this possible is increasing, while the supply is insufficient. We would like to contribute to this with this summer school as part of our recently launched national Human Capital Agenda in close collaboration with our partners.

The International Cyber Security Summer School is organised by the national security cluster Security Delta (HSD) in collaboration with Europol, NCI Agency (NATO), Leiden University, Booz Allen Hamilton, Accenture, PRODAFT, De Nederlandsche Bank, Het Nationaal Cyber Security Centrum (NCSC), Kiwa, KPN, Audittrail, Scenarios4, Connect2Trust, Secura, and Group-IB. These organisations will open their doors to participants to help them further develop in this field, and organise content sessions for participants.