THE DIGITAL FRONT LINE: 15 actions to boost Europe’s Digital Resilience

Foreword 

The Ukraine war is the first hybrid war blurring the lines between physical and non-physical threats. What role will digital technology play in this striking paradigm shift? And how vital is it for our societies to be digitally resilient?

Digital resilience emerged as a new central societal concept during the Covid 19 pandemic, and it has become even more critical following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the recent heart-breaking earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

Digital Resilience refers to our ability as a society to use digital technologies to prevent and face crises like pandemics, natural disasters, cyberattacks and hybrid wars, while sustaining our financial and security assets.

Digital Resilience is highly reliant on the close collaboration between the private tech sector and the public sector. While the latter holds the institutional decision-making process for common good, the private sector holds the key to most of today’s tech innovation and the digital infrastructure required to swiftly face and recover from any severe disruption.

At a time of rising hybrid threats, Europe’s security is heavily dependent on its ability to foster a strong public/private partnership while providing the appropriate conditions for digital companies to scale up and grow in Europe.

In this paper we will look at four pillars of Digital Resilience:

• 1. Cybersecurity and cyber governance
• 2. Digital Infrastructure
• 3. Supply Chain resilience
• 4. Agile procurement mechanisms for Emerging and Disruptive Tech (EDTs)

If you are a policy maker or a professional in the digital resilience domain, looking for some actionable ideas on how to collaborate with the private sector, please read on. Or if you are a start-up or a scale-up wondering about ways to navigate the complex routes of EU and NATO procurement, we have you covered.

And lastly, if you are a citizen interested in the role of the digital sector in shielding our societies from the rising hybrid threats, this publication is for you.