A Dutch Approach to Cybersecurity through Participation

At the end of 2013, the Dutch government published its second National Cyber Security Strategy, a major step in the development of the governmental approach to cybersecurity. This document stresses the importance of increasing cyber resilience through participation. The challenge of securing this entire domain is too large for any one organization. Therefore, the Dutch have chosen to engage the private sector, and foster participation to face the challenge together. In typical Dutch style, the government encourages voluntary, bottom-up participation and, thus, invites public and private parties to the table to discuss common threats and identify areas for collaboration. The recently formed Dutch National Cyber Security Centre plays a crucial role in coordinating, facilitating, encouraging and supporting such participation.