This event has now taken place – a replay is available below.
Cybersecurity has long been perceived as a policy that is only for the tech sector. However, this past year has changed the perspective on digital transformation by making almost every business go online. We witnessed the attacks and leaks of data of crucial entities, including the European Medical Agency in the heights of the vaccine assessments. Cyber incidents, attacks and hacks have become part of everyday news coverage, but this is a trend we should avoid normalising.
The European institutions and allies from the US have clearly stated that cybersecurity is a priority for the post-pandemic recovery, as we move towards a more connected society and economy. But cybersecurity must not be understood in terms of only protecting personal data, but also as the enabling environment for efficient, uninterrupted and safe supply of services in any kind of interactions – G2G, B2B, G2C, B2C and so on.
This roundtable event will seek to answer some of the questions with regards to scope, the interplay between European and global cybersecurity norms and processes, as well as to dive into the cyber landscape within Europe.
Eva Maydell, MEP, EEP Group (BG) Eva Maydell (Paunova) is a second-term Member of the European Parliament within the European People’s Party (EPP) Group, representing the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB). She is a Member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) and Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) Committee. She is also a Vice-Chair of the Delegation for relations with Japan and substitute member in the Delegation for relations with the US. Until her election, she was Executive Coordinator of the GERB-EPP Delegation and Senior Policy Advisor in the European Parliament. MEP Maydell’s key interests include innovation & digitalisation, investments, SMEs & entrepreneurship and education.
MEP
EEP Group (BG)
Host & Moderator
Jakub Boratyński, Head of Unit, Cybersecurity and Digital Privacy Policy (CNECT.H.2), European Commission Head of Unit ‘Cybersecurity and Digital Privacy Policy’ within the European Commission (Directorate-General Communication Networks, Content and Technology). Among others, involved in negotiations of the Cybersecurity Act, implementation of the Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive, preparation of the Commission’s Recommendation for a common EU approach to the security of 5G networks, the EU cyber-security strategy’s actions on resilience and cooperation with the EU Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA). He also directly contributed to the production of the EU Cybersecurity Strategy.
Previously Head of Unit ‘Organised Crime and Relations with EMCDDA’ at the European Commission (Directorate-General Home Affairs), which has the lead responsibility for the fight against cybercrime, corruption, sexual abuse of children and confiscation of criminal assets. In relation to cybercrime, involved in negotiation and drafting of two directives (on cyber-attacks and sexual exploitation of children) and establishment of the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3). Previously worked on EU relations with Russia (Directorate-General External Relations).
Before joining the European Commission, a Director at the Stefan Batory Foundation in Warsaw and Policy Officer with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Graduate of the London School of Economics and the University of Warsaw (international relations, law).
Head of Unit, Cybersecurity and Digital Privacy Policy (CNECT.H.2)
European Commission
Juhan Lepassaar, Executive Director, ENISA Mr. Juhan Lepassaar is a citizen of Estonia. Dedicated to the European Union, he has been a strong supporter of the development of the cybersecurity policy as Head of Cabinet of Andrus Ansip, Vice President for the Digital Single Market in the European Commission for the past 5 years. It is within his previous function as Director for EU affairs at the Government Office of Estonia that Mr. Lepassaar had been initially given the chance to engage in cybersecurity policy.
Executive Director,
ENISA
Chris Gow, Senior Director and Head of EU Public Policy, Cisco Chris Gow is Senior Director, EU Public Policy for Cisco’s Government Affairs team, responsible for engagements with the EU institutions in Brussels. He is the global lead on privacy policy and within Europe on security. Mr Gow joined Cisco in early 2008 and beyond privacy and security, plays an active role on spectrum, cloud and IoT policy.
Mr Gow is a Member of the Executive Board of DIGITAL EUROPE and the Chair of DIGITAL EUROPE’s Privacy and Security Group. DIGITAL EUROPE is the main European industry association for tech manufacturers in Brussels.
Prior to Cisco, Mr Gow was responsible for campaign strategies and digital economy policy work at EICTA (now DIGITAL EUROPE). He has been in Brussels since 2003, initially as an Assistant to a Member of the European Parliament, working on internal market and legal affairs issues.
Mr Gow studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University.
Senior Director and Head of EU Public Policy,
Cisco
Krasimir Simonski, Deputy Chairman of E-Government State Agency, Bulgaria Krasimir Simonski is a Computer Equipment Engineer, having graduated from the Technical University of Sofia. He is a Doctor of Sciences with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, his thesis being “VoIP within Computer Networks”.
In the period 1991 until 2002 he was a Computer and Communications Director with the American University of Blagoevgrad, whereas since 2000 he has been Manager of Regional Cisco Networking Academy, and a trainer in Information and Communication Technologies.
Krasimir Simonski worked on several projects related to IT training and development of ICT skills with AUB in Blagoevgrad, United Nations Development Program (UNDP 2006-2008), including an iGovernment project, under which over 65 thousand employees of state institutions received basic computer skills training. In the period 2004-2007, he managed the “Telecentres” project of UNDP and the State Agency for Information Technology and Communications. As many as 120 telecentres have since been established across the country under that project.
Since 2007 he has been a Head and a Coordinator of the Bulgarian project teams of the European Commission, among which were those concerning the elaboration of national development programs of broadband Internet access in Europe and GEANT2, GN3 – the largest-scale project under the Seventh Framework Program for Establishing a Research Infrastructure in Europe.
From September 2007, until October 2009 he was a Deputy Chairperson to the Information Technology and Communications State Agency, being in charge of the “Information Technology” Department.
Krasimir Simonski has also worked as a free-lanced consultant since 2009. He has participated in a number of international projects in the field of information and communication technologies, online technologies, electronic education and dissemination of broadband internet access across the Balkan and the CEE countries.
Since April 2012 he has become a PM under a project for “Development of high-speed broadband access in Bulgaria through setting up critical, secure, safe and reliable public ICT Infrastructure” of the Executive Agency “Electronic communication networks and information systems” (EA ECNIS).
Krasimir Simonski was CEO of Executive Agency “Electronic communication networks and information systems” (EA ECNIS) since the beginning of 2013 until appointed Deputy Chairperson to the newly established SEGA.
Krasimir Simonski is fluent in English and a powerful user of Russian.
Deputy Chairman
E-Government State Agency Bulgaria
James Philpot, Project Manager, European Digital SME Alliance James Philpot graduated from Bath University in 2015 with a Degree in Politics and International Relations.
During his studies, he spent a year working abroad for an NGO confederation in Brussels and returned after graduating. He began working in European projects for a small consultancy, building consortia and offering project management support for clients in the education and culture sector.
After working for a cultural heritage organisation, James joined the European Organisation for Security, where he coordinated the Cybersecurity Working Group and worked on projects in the cyberphysical and crisis management fields.
At DIGITAL SME, he is the Project Manager for Cybersecurity and Data projects and contributes to policy and standardisation issues on these topics.
Project Manager
European Digital SME Alliance
16:30 – 16:35
Welcome
Host & Moderator: Eva Maydell, MEP, EEP Group (BG) Eva Maydell (Paunova) is a second-term Member of the European Parliament within the European People’s Party (EPP) Group, representing the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB). She is a Member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) and Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) Committee. She is also a Vice-Chair of the Delegation for relations with Japan and substitute member in the Delegation for relations with the US. Until her election, she was Executive Coordinator of the GERB-EPP Delegation and Senior Policy Advisor in the European Parliament. MEP Maydell’s key interests include innovation & digitalisation, investments, SMEs & entrepreneurship and education.
Host & Moderator: Eva Maydell
Member, European Parliament
16:35 – 17:40
Panel Discussion
Jakub Boratyński, Head of Unit, Cybersecurity and Digital Privacy Policy (CNECT.H.2), European Commission Head of Unit ‘Cybersecurity and Digital Privacy Policy’ within the European Commission (Directorate-General Communication Networks, Content and Technology). Among others, involved in negotiations of the Cybersecurity Act, implementation of the Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive, preparation of the Commission’s Recommendation for a common EU approach to the security of 5G networks, the EU cyber-security strategy’s actions on resilience and cooperation with the EU Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA). He also directly contributed to the production of the EU Cybersecurity Strategy.
Previously Head of Unit ‘Organised Crime and Relations with EMCDDA’ at the European Commission (Directorate-General Home Affairs), which has the lead responsibility for the fight against cybercrime, corruption, sexual abuse of children and confiscation of criminal assets. In relation to cybercrime, involved in negotiation and drafting of two directives (on cyber-attacks and sexual exploitation of children) and establishment of the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3). Previously worked on EU relations with Russia (Directorate-General External Relations).
Before joining the European Commission, a Director at the Stefan Batory Foundation in Warsaw and Policy Officer with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Graduate of the London School of Economics and the University of Warsaw (international relations, law).
Jakub Boratyński
Head of Unit, Cybersecurity and Digital Privacy Policy (CNECT.H.2), European Commission
Juhan Lepassaar, Executive Director, ENISA Mr. Juhan Lepassaar is a citizen of Estonia. Dedicated to the European Union, he has been a strong supporter of the development of the cybersecurity policy as Head of Cabinet of Andrus Ansip, Vice President for the Digital Single Market in the European Commission for the past 5 years. It is within his previous function as Director for EU affairs at the Government Office of Estonia that Mr. Lepassaar had been initially given the chance to engage in cybersecurity policy.
Juhan Lepassaar
Executive Director, ENISA
Chris Gow, Senior Director and Head of EU Public Policy, Cisco Chris Gow is Senior Director, EU Public Policy for Cisco’s Government Affairs team, responsible for engagements with the EU institutions in Brussels. He is the global lead on privacy policy and within Europe on security. Mr Gow joined Cisco in early 2008 and beyond privacy and security, plays an active role on spectrum, cloud and IoT policy.
Mr Gow is a Member of the Executive Board of DIGITAL EUROPE and the Chair of DIGITAL EUROPE’s Privacy and Security Group. DIGITAL EUROPE is the main European industry association for tech manufacturers in Brussels.
Prior to Cisco, Mr Gow was responsible for campaign strategies and digital economy policy work at EICTA (now DIGITAL EUROPE). He has been in Brussels since 2003, initially as an Assistant to a Member of the European Parliament, working on internal market and legal affairs issues.
Mr Gow studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University.
Chris Gow
Senior Director and Head of EU Public Policy, Cisco
Krasimir Simonski, Deputy Chairman, E-Government State Agency Bulgaria Krasimir Simonski is a Computer Equipment Engineer, having graduated from the Technical University of Sofia. He is a Doctor of Sciences with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, his thesis being “VoIP within Computer Networks”.
In the period 1991 until 2002 he was a Computer and Communications Director with the American University of Blagoevgrad, whereas since 2000 he has been Manager of Regional Cisco Networking Academy, and a trainer in Information and Communication Technologies.
Krasimir Simonski worked on several projects related to IT training and development of ICT skills with AUB in Blagoevgrad, United Nations Development Program (UNDP 2006-2008), including an iGovernment project, under which over 65 thousand employees of state institutions received basic computer skills training. In the period 2004-2007, he managed the “Telecentres” project of UNDP and the State Agency for Information Technology and Communications. As many as 120 telecentres have since been established across the country under that project.
Since 2007 he has been a Head and a Coordinator of the Bulgarian project teams of the European Commission, among which were those concerning the elaboration of national development programs of broadband Internet access in Europe and GEANT2, GN3 – the largest-scale project under the Seventh Framework Program for Establishing a Research Infrastructure in Europe.
From September 2007, until October 2009 he was a Deputy Chairperson to the Information Technology and Communications State Agency, being in charge of the “Information Technology” Department.
Krasimir Simonski has also worked as a free-lanced consultant since 2009. He has participated in a number of international projects in the field of information and communication technologies, online technologies, electronic education and dissemination of broadband internet access across the Balkan and the CEE countries.
Since April 2012 he has become a PM under a project for “Development of high-speed broadband access in Bulgaria through setting up critical, secure, safe and reliable public ICT Infrastructure” of the Executive Agency “Electronic communication networks and information systems” (EA ECNIS).
Krasimir Simonski was CEO of Executive Agency “Electronic communication networks and information systems” (EA ECNIS) since the beginning of 2013 until appointed Deputy Chairperson to the newly established SEGA.
Krasimir Simonski is fluent in English and a powerful user of Russian.
Krasimir Simonski
Deputy Chairman, E-Government State Agency Bulgaria
James Philpot, Project Manager, European Digital SME Alliance James Philpot graduated from Bath University in 2015 with a Degree in Politics and International Relations.
During his studies, he spent a year working abroad for an NGO confederation in Brussels and returned after graduating. He began working in European projects for a small consultancy, building consortia and offering project management support for clients in the education and culture sector.
After working for a cultural heritage organisation, James joined the European Organisation for Security, where he coordinated the Cybersecurity Working Group and worked on projects in the cyberphysical and crisis management fields.
At DIGITAL SME, he is the Project Manager for Cybersecurity and Data projects and contributes to policy and standardisation issues on these topics.
James Philpot
Project Manager, European Digital SME Alliance
17:40 – 17:45
Closing Remarks
European People's Party Every day, renewing the trust of the European citizens is the driving inspiration for the EPP’s activities.
The EPP is a decision maker and has leading roles in the main EU Institutions and in member states across the Continent. This brings responsibility and also the capacity to deliver reforms for the European citizens.
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