Taking cybersecurity to the top level: 1st European TLD ISAC conference in Brussels

Almost 90 people participated in the first annual conference of the newly launched European TLD ISAC in Brussels on 13 November 2023. Under the motto "taking cybersecurity to the top level", the programme featured an impressive line-up of expert speakers from the cybersecurity realm. They covered issues ranging from the evolution and current landscape of intel sharing to related principles, processes, policies and tools, as well as best practices and pitfalls of vulnerability scanning and last, but not least, the legal framework.

Kristof Tuyteleers, CISO at DNS Belgium and Chair of the TLD ISAC Working Group, said: "This conference provided the perfect opportunity to showcase the importance of the TLD ISAC by means of practical examples and easy-to-implement principles and guidelines. All the while the Working Group keeps building the groundwork and developing the capabilities to take cybersecurity to the top level."

Paul Lewis, CISO at Nominet and Chair of the Steering Committee of the TLD ISAC said: "Today, we brought together a multitude of cyber security experts across Europe with different roles and responsibilities. The ISAC conference showed how important it is to cooperate and collaborate across countries, departments and disciplines to tackle cybersecurity threats, and I am proud to chair the TLD ISAC steering committee to help move this important initiative forward."

Merike Käo, keynote speaker at the conference and distinguished cybersecurity expert added: "I am thrilled to see the European focus on sector ISACs and the cross functional attendance from policy, legal, technical and operational communities. The willingness to have open communication for establishing collaborative sharing initiatives has made a great first impression of the TLD ISAC."

Philip Du Bois, General Manager of DNS Belgium and Vice-Chair of the Steering Committee said: "Intel sharing can only work when there is trust, willingness and courage to share what's going on when things are burning in the kitchen. Sharing information is at the core of what CENTR does. Today showed that we have all the tools in our hands to make the European TLD ISAC a success."

Dirk Jumpertz, Security Manager EURid and Vice-Chair of the Working Group: "Our first conference had a well-balanced agenda of general, technical, and regulatory topics reflecting the versatile nature of the European TLD ISAC. Listening to the positive reactions of the participants, we are confident to be on the track to taking cyber preparedness and resilience to higher levels."