Innovation

Professor Corien Prins member of new Cyber Security Council

On 1 July 2011, Minister Opstelten of Security and Justice officially installed the Cyber Security Council (CSR). Under the co-chair of Eelco Blok (CEO KPN) and Erik Akerboom (National Coordinator for Counterterrorism), the council’s task is to provide solicited and unsolicited advice to the government and private parties on relevant trends in digital security. Tilburg University’s Professor of Law and Informatization Corien Prins is a member of the council.

The Cyber Security Council sets priorities in tackling IT threats, reviews the need for further research & development, and subsequently decides how this knowledge can best be shared with the participating public and private parties. In performing its tasks, the council will devote express attention to core values, such as the importance of privacy or fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and collection of information.

The installation of the Cyber Security Council is a direct result of the National Cyber Security Strategy, which the minister presented to the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament on behalf of the government earlier this year. The first threat analysis on cyber security is expected to be published in October.
The installation of the Cyber Security Council is the first step towards setting up the National Cyber Security Centre, which should be operational as of 1 January 2012. Tactical and operational knowledge and expertise from public and private sources will be combined here with a view to providing insight into developments, threats and trends, and support will be provided for dealing with incidents and emergency decision-making on digital security.