Bibi van den Berg appointed as Professor Cybersecurity Governance
The Executive Board has decided to appoint Dr. Bibi van den Berg as Professor of Cybersecurity Governance within the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, starting on 1 September 2017.
New chair
The rapid rise of digital network technologies has drastically changed our society and economy over the last few decades. Boundaries have become blurred and information can be shared all round the world immediately, twenty-four seven and at very low cost. Although cyberspace has brought us many advantages, these new technologies also entail risks. As a result, in recent years there has been a growing focus on cybersecurity: making cyberspace secure and keeping it secure. For a long time, cybersecurity was viewed as a primarily technical issue, but over time it has become evident that governance aspects also play a vital role in cybersecurity. The chair of Cybersecurity Governance aims to provide sound scientific input to the academic and public debate about the governance aspects of cybersecurity issues from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Important themes in this context include creating, improving and monitoring the cybersecurity governance landscape and its layout, finding a balance between cybersecurity and other (possibly conflicting) values and responsibilities for the government, and developing regulation and policy strategies and resources that can result in greater cybersecurity, naturally without violating the aforesaid values.
Bibi van den Berg
Professor van den Berg’s background is at the interface of philosophy of technology, regulation and governance. She has published on regulation of/in cyberspace, the balance between privacy and security, and regulation by means of technology (techno-regulation). She is currently working on two major new research projects: one on international standards for state players in cyberspace, and the other on the awareness and resilience of citizens in relation to cybersecurity.
Van den Berg is also one of the founders of the Cyber Security Academy, a joint initiative of Leiden University, Delft University of Technology and The Hague University of Applied Sciences, offering a multidisciplinary Executive Master’s programme for tomorrow’s cybersecurity professionals. Finally, Van den Berg is a member of the Cyber Security Council, which advises the government in the field of cybersecurity.