Keynote Dave Maasland
Cybersecurity: Don't worry, it's only getting worse
Cybersecurity is not about securing systems anymore; it is about protecting people in a digital society. Attacks are not slowing down, and the impact will only get worse as our world is increasingly connected world. There is however hope for a bright future. That future starts with preparation and changing our mindset. If you are looking for a positive but honest story about cybersecurity, don’t miss this presentation.
Video Dave Maasland (dutch)
Keynote Martin van Staveren
Risk of safety?
Already in the 1980’s, the concept of a ‘risk society’ emerged. The British sociologist Anthony Giddens describes it as a society that increasingly is preoccupied with safety.
Usually, safety is nowadays considered a something positive. Something, with which we only can agree. As a result, thriving for safety has reach every inch of our society. Therefore, we take in our organisations lots of measures against safety risks, for reasons of prevention and because of precautionary principles. Often, these are ‘better safe than sorry’ type of measures. By monitoring, administration and compliance these safety measures have to be traceable and verifiable. All of this may cost something, expressed in terms of money, time and energy.
However, is there perhaps any a downside of safety? For instance, how about the proportionality of too many measures? Do these safety measures have any adverse impact on our autonomy? What type of risks may arise because of a (too) limited focus on safe persons, in safe teams, in safe organisations, in a safe society? In other words, what price is paid unconsciously, by who and at what cost?
These questions lead to another question, perhaps the most important one: are we as individuals, within our organisations and as a society, able to find a new balance between risk and safety? In particular in our era with abundant dynamics, complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity, where fully makeable safety turns at best to be an illusion? What resilience is needed from us? And which mindset and competencies may help us to develop resilience?
In conclusion, this keynote provides an integral, critical view on safety from a multidimensional risk perspective.