Mercedes Abdalla

Erik Frinking 

Paul Sinning

Eva Bontje

Christopher Frattina della Frattina

With the World Health Organization (WHO), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the U.S. Blue Ribbon panel publishing reports on the emerging risks of biological weaponry in past months, there is a new sense of urgency regarding biological weapons. In August 2016, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon told the Security Council that “non-state actors are actively seeking chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons.” This report presents the changing dynamics of the development and use of biological weapons and the preparation against them. The dynamics relate to technological advances in biotechnology and the concomitant attraction to non-state actors to use biological agents as weapons due to their financial appeal and diverse impact. The relative ease with which biological weapons can be produced, and the intent of non-state actors to use biological weapons- based on historical precedent and recent surge in international terrorism- call for a renewed focus on this field and an increased effort to respond to these developments. We provide illustrations of new policy initiatives in a variety of countries and outline the current state of play in the Netherlands, providing a point of departure to discuss whether the current approach is sufficient to tackle the upcoming issues.

Handle with sufficient and proportionate care

The increasing threat of biological weapons

Koen van Lieshout

Michel Rademaker

Louk Faesen

Digitalization has taken a predominant role in the Netherlands. The Netherlands considers itself one of the leading ICT countries, promotes itself as ‘a safe place to do business’ and aspires to be the digital gateway of Europe. This report will first estimate the current and prospective size of the Dutch digital economy and the ICT sector, and later analyze how much the latter contributes to the national economy. Next, we provide a holistic overview of the current level of public and private investments in cybersecurity, followed by an analysis estimating the Dutch cybersecurity market by comparing different studies. Taking into account the 1,5% loss of its national GDP to cybercrime, which correlates well to the €10bn value loss through cyber risk in the Netherlands, the Dutch private sector, and especially the government, can invest more in cybersecurity to reduce the impact and damage cybercrime and –risks. In addition, there is a drastic increase in demand anticipated for cybersecurity experts and IoT developers. As a result, when this is solved, one might conclude that the investments in cybersecurity will exceed the 10% norm. This research is directed to the National Cyber Testbed Initiative of The Hague Security Delta (December 2016).

Putting it in Perspective

Dutch Investments in ICT and Cybersecurity

Mercedes Abdalla

Books

Your next favorite book is out there