In recent years, the Cyber Security Coalition has become the platform in Belgium for sharing cybersecurity expertise and content. For Marc Vael, a Global Security Leader at international innovative technology player Veralto (www.veralto.com) and president of the Studiecentrum voor Automatische Informatieverwerking (www.sai.be), the membership and collaboration in the Coalition delivers a clear added value. “Through the collaboration between the Coalition, its members and objective key security players like the Centre for Cyber security Belgium (CCB), Belgium is emerging as the home to international authorities in the field. This is something we can be genuinely proud of.”
Knowledge sharing amongst peers of actionable security information is essential to stay ahead
“I first came into contact with the Coalition through my close ties with key founder Professor Georges Ataya,” says Marc Vael. “There was a clear match with my own approach and values, which led me to connect with the Coalition in 2020 and make SAI.BE a member in 2023. By then, I was already familiar with many of the Coalition’s deliverables that provides valuable, relevant information and insights that I can apply in several security domains in my organisation.”
“I also find the many Coalition events and focus group meetings incredibly useful. They offer a great platform for sharing valuable knowledge and expertise amongst security peers,” he continues. “For me, the Cyber Security Coalition is the benchmark for knowledge sharing on security topics in Belgium. And even as the Coalition and SAI.BE cater to different target audiences, the two complement each other perfectly.”
Belgium as a pioneer
Marc believes that security knowledge sharing amongst peers has never been more essential to enhance the security maturity in an organisation and across the domain. “There is so much happening in the cybersecurity domain, which drives innovation but also poses the challenge of absorbing it all on time,” he explains.
“Belgium was and still is the home of cybersecurity authorities, and it is a luxury and a pleasure to work with them and exchange information via the Coalition. This is something we all really should be proud of. A great example is the European NIS2 directive. Belgium is one of the first EU countries that has properly translated the EU directive in Belgian law, but also has set up a complete free support site with actionable information and files for all organisations and this in 4 languages (www.cyfun.be),” he adds.
A knowledge sharing platform for security leaders
Cybersecurity is becoming so vital to any organisation that it also impacts how organisations review security products and services. “Larger organisations are very demanding of all their vendors and consultants, and especially when these are providing security products and services. If you cannot deliver the required top quality consistently now and in the future supported by the proper security compliance documentation, you’re out,” he continues. “In practice, this leads to more rotation of vendors and consultants in a lot of organisations who are demanding this top quality.”
“This is a fascinating evolution that certainly elevates the overall level of cyber security. But it also highlights the growing need for independent objective communication channels between security leaders – free from vendors or consultants. These communication channels must remain separate from vendor-driven initiatives aimed at promoting their products and services, which, of course, can continue in parallel,” he adds.
Marc considers this one of the essential expectations impacting the future value of the Coalition. “The Coalition must focus on continuous knowledge sharing based on real, tangible, actionable security deliverables for the security community around topics that matter, like the security of innovative solutions (AI, Quantum Computing, 6G), cyber resilience (business continuity and IT disaster recovery planning), secure software development and security auditing (internal or external). Security leaders need their own space to reflect on current security developments and world-class security practices.”
“As a Global Security Leader at an international innovative technology player like Veralto, my focus is always set on improving security at a global scale. It is essential that we as security community make security information digestible for other decision-makers within the organisation, as well as exchange it with peers in other organisations. This knowledge sharing of actionable security information amongst peers is very powerful and, in my opinion, essential to stay ahead and secure.”
