PIB Germany Event: Sharing Knowledge and Enhancing Collaboration in Cybersecurity

On 14 November, the Partners for International Business (PIB) Programme Germany organised an event in München: “Zusammenarbeit in der Cybersicherheit: Die wichtigsten Aufgaben für die Unternehmensführung”. The aim of the event was to bring together Dutch and German organisations and to stimulate collaboration and exchanges of knowledge in the field of cybersecurity. At the same time, C-suite decision-makers were able to gain relevant insights into the most important cybersecurity areas and developments. Chairman of the event was Erik Jan Hengstmengel, Liaison Officer PIB Cybersecurity Germany.  

The day started off with a warm welcome by Mira Woldberg, Deputy Ambassador ​of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands ​in Germany, where she addressed the importance of cybersecurity, the history of Bavarian-Dutch collaboration and the significance of working together. In addition, Dr. Hans Michael Strepp, Ministerial Director, Head of Department of the Bavarian State Ministry for Digital, presented a speech on why cybersecurity is a topic that cannot be solved by one single country but requires collaboration. He also expressed his excitement on the establishment of partnerships between the Netherlands and Bayern.  

Keynotes and Paneldiscussion 

Keynote speaker Dr. Silvia Knittl (Director Enterprise Security Architecture at PwC Deutschland) addressed Zero Trust as the basis for trust in the digital transformation. And Dimitri van Zantvliet, CISO at NS, touched upon the dilemmas and future of the NS-cyberstrategy. Dr. Silvia Knittl, Dimitri van Zantvliet and Chris van den Hooven (Senior IACS Security Consultant at Hudson Cybertec), also shared their insights during the 'Lessons Learned' panel discussion. Emily Jacometti (CO-CEO Hackshield Future Cyber Heroes) concluded the programme with a keynote on how to create a cyber safe generation. 

Breakout Sessions

The PIB Germany members and several German organisations also took the floor by hosting various breakout sessions. 

• Hudson Cybertec & Rhebo teamed up to talk about security in the cyber-physical world and specifically the ways how critical infrastructures can be protected. 
• Guardian360 and The Bristol Group worked together to present a session on how to take control and ensure compliance with laws and regulations in order to create trust. 
• Munich Re dived into the investments and risks of cybersecurity through a discussion on the interaction between cyber insurance requirements and residual cybersecurity risk. 
• SecuMailer and Universität der Bundeswehr München collaborated to host an interactive session on the creation of a resilient cyber security culture through awareness on the one hand and enforcement on the other hand. 
• GCS Cyber and Siemens Advanta joined forces to address the issue of how to attract much sought-after cyber specialists while taking diversity and inclusivity into account.
• EclecticIQ tackled the topic of monitor access and how one can protect their company from external cyber threats. 

The day ended with some networking drinks and a relaxing dinner to discuss the topics of the programme, connect with each other and seal future collaborations. 

PIB Germany

Partners for International Business (PIB) Germany is an initiative of Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO) commissioned by Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken. Driving the PIB initiative forward are Security Delta and InnovationQuarter in close collaboration with Consulaat-Generaal van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in München, Businessclub Deutschland – Niederlande and RVO. This particular event was also made possible by The Bristol Group and DNHK.  

You can find more information on PIB Cybersecurity Germany here.