TALLINN, Estonia – The 15th annual International Conference on Cyber Conflicts, CyCon, is taking place from May 30th to June 2nd. CyCon 2023 aims to challenge assumptions about cyber conflicts and associated technologies, not only during times of crisis and conflict but also in peacetime.
The one-of-a-kind cyber conflict conference was opened by Alar Karis, President of Estonia. “One year into Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, we recognize the need to deepen our understanding of the impact of conflicts in cyberspace and how they affect our societies. It is time to learn from these experiences, share them, and find solutions that enhance our resilience individually and collectively,” said Karis.
He emphasized that both the public and private sectors, as well as society as a whole, must do more to enhance cyber resilience. “That is easier said than done. Most people do not spend much time considering the connection between yet another security flaw that needs patching and a potentially harmful security incident. This is why we must focus on raising awareness at all levels. CyCon is one of the tools to foster greater cooperation,” added Karis.
Mart Noorma, the director of NATO CCDCOE, highlighted that all 39 member nations of CCDCOE are working together to make cyberspace a safer place. “Our main purpose is to assist like-minded countries in forming a strong coalition that addresses emerging cyber threats before they reach critical levels. CyCon provides an excellent platform for the public and private sectors, military organizations, and academia to come together and tackle cyber threats as a unified team,” said Noorma.
CyCon 2023 is a multidisciplinary conference that brings together renowned cyber warfare experts from the private sector, military academia, and security institutions. Over the course of four days, more than fifty speakers, including keynote speakers such as David van Weel, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges; Kemba Eneas Walden, The White House’s Acting National Cyber Director; and Ross J. Anderson, Professor of Security Engineering at the University of Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh, will address and discuss the future of cyber conflicts and cybersecurity.
The conference will also host representatives from the cyber commanders and defense forces of Germany, Australia, the USA, the UK, Poland, Canada, and dozens of other member states. Professors and researchers from esteemed universities such as Cambridge, Cornell, and Oxford will provide valuable in-depth insights into conflicts in the cyber domain. Additionally, notable partners from companies like Microsoft, Fortinet, and Palo Alto Networks will cover trends in digital threats and more.
The aim of CyCon 2023 is to bring together politicians, researchers, private sector representatives, and military personnel to discuss how emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing, along with ongoing conflicts, evolving legislations, and other factors, are reshaping the nature of cyber conflicts. The conference will explore what the global community should do to enhance its protection in cyberspace.
The fifteenth iteration of the conference calls for reflection and reassessment of the various assumptions, conclusions, and forecasts made concerning cyberspace, technologies, and the people utilizing them. The theme of CyCon 2023 is “Meeting Reality.”
The conference, focusing on cyber conflict, is organized by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), an internationally recognized think tank and training institution accredited by NATO, based in Tallinn.
For more information about CyCon 2023, please visit https://cycon.org/.