On behalf of the Cabinet, Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius (Justice and Security), together with Minister Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate) and State Secretary Van Huffelen (Kingdom Relations and Digitalization), today presented the new Dutch cybersecurity strategy 2022-2028. The strategy also includes an action plan with concrete actions to make the Netherlands more digitally secure.
Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius: "The digital threat is rising sharply with criminals and hostile states threatening our interests. Therefore, action is needed now to increase our digital resilience, strengthen the system and address the threat. Only then will we as the Netherlands be able to safely capitalize on the economic and social opportunities of digitization, while protecting our security and public values. The Netherlands is one of the most digitized countries in the world. We work digitally, store digitally and meet digitally. Digital systems form the 'nervous system' of our society Therefore, we must protect these systems and ensure that we are prepared if something does go wrong."
Minister Adriaansens: "Digital resilience is really important and we all experience that. For example, if a cyber-attack causes the Internet to malfunction, causing shelves in stores to be unfilled or even industrial production to fail. In these times, that calls for a government that actively contributes to our digital resilience. After all, cyber-secure digital devices and systems are not only necessary, but also provide economic opportunities for our businesses and convenience for consumers."
State Secretary Van Huffelen: "Security and trust are an absolute prerequisite in the digital world, as in the physical world. Robust legislation, regulation and supervision must help us make the digital world safer. The entire government must lead the way in this and work together with a network of public and private partners."
Security in the digital world still lags far behind that in the physical world. Whoever buys a car knows that it meets all kinds of safety and quality requirements. And the buyer knows exactly what is expected of him or her to be able and allowed to drive that car safely; a driver's license, no alcohol, annual MOT inspections. The same should become customary for digital security. In the Dutch cybersecurity strategy, the cabinet describes its vision of the digital society and the role of government, businesses and citizens in it.
In addition, the action plan contains concrete actions for a digitally safe society. To realize the vision, goals have been formulated along four pillars. First, increasing the digital resilience of the government, businesses and civil society organizations. Further, providing secure and innovative digital products and services in our country. Third, countering digital threats from states and criminals. And finally, sufficient cybersecurity specialists, education on digital security and digital resilience of citizens.
To achieve these goals, the system around digital security is being strengthened. To this end, for example, the National Cybersecurity Center, Digital Trust Center and the Cyber Security Incident Response Team for Digital Service Providers will be merged into a single national cybersecurity authority. There will also be laws and regulations that are clear and verifiable, making non-committal measures a thing of the past. We also need more insight into the threat because only then can we increase resilience.
The strategy was created with broad involvement from many public, private and civil society organizations and builds on previous cabinet-wide cybersecurity strategies from 2011, 2013 and 2018. To create and implement the strategy, all ministries are working together, including public and private partners.
Read here the full Dutch Cybersecurity Strategy 2022-2028 (NLCS)
