OFFICIAL STATEMENT

CYBERSEC Brussels Leaders’ Foresight 2020 conference goes digital-only because of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

Dear Sir or Madam, 

We decided that what makes the most sense for the health and safety of our CYBERSEC community is to move the entirety of the CYBERSEC Brussels Leaders’ Foresight 2020 event to cyberspace.

We have been monitoring with the highest concern the information of the World Health Organization regarding the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and we believe that it is now the move to make for the sake of the health of our speakers, guests and workers.

We also trust that it will prove to be an inspiring showcase of how digital technologies can help us carry on with our daily lives and businesses despite extremely difficult times for societal functioning with the need to impose social distancing measures.

All of the panels and conference formats will take place as planned, on 24th March 2020, but they will be held via an online platform to which every speaker and participant will connect individually. The conference will be streamed publicly but the closed sessions will take place in dedicated online rooms with limited invitation-only access (both on 24th and on 25th March). We will provide the necessary technical details in advance of the event.

We are intensifying the online promotion of the event and enhance our communication efforts so the possibility to join the conference remotely will be widely advertised. We believe that with the entire event streamed globally we will reach out to a large audience of cybersecurity actors around the world.

A few weeks ago, the European Commission unveiled its ideas and actions for a digital transformation that works for all, reflecting the best of Europe: open, fair, diverse, democratic and confident. The document presents a European society powered by digital solutions that put people first and opens up new opportunities. Today, together, through this online event we can make it real and prove that the digital world is able to connect people right across the board, to enable cooperation and unrestricted debate on various challenges we are facing every day. Technology should work for people and should work for the good and it is how we understand cybersecurity now in the broader sense. When COVID-19 cases pose a threat to lives and may disrupt the way our communities are organised, technology helps us to continue the discussion about securing the digital DNA and shaping the European digital future.

Our team is working on reaching out to you digitally in the form of a virtual cybersecurity conference which we believe will have, as each and every edition of CYBERSEC does, a real impact on the decision-making process and public debate about cyberthreats which are here to stay and need to be countered daily!

We will keep you informed of all crucial developments. To keep up to date, please follow our social media channels and visit the CYBERSEC website.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.