A new digital era: European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity Launches Digital Pact for Privacy and Cybersecurity as Social Responsibilities

Maastricht – The European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity held the “Data Protection as a Corporate Social Responsibility (DPCSR): A Digital Pact for Privacy and Cybersecurity as Social Responsibilities” event at the Maastricht University Faculty of Law on 6 September 2023. 

The day commenced with a closed-door session with a group of representatives from Data Protection, Intergovernmental, Education, and Business Stakeholders who, since the beginning of 2023, have worked with Prof. Dr. Paolo Balboni and Kate Francis, PhD candidate, to assess the feasibility of the auditable controls for the implementation of the Maastricht University Data Protection as a Corporate Social Responsibility (UM-DPCSR) Framework. “Privacy and cybersecurity are fundamental to preserving democratic values, and that is precisely what our Framework aims to do,” remarked Balboni. 

In the afternoon session, open to the 2023-2025 cohort of students of the Advanced Master in Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Management at ECPC, Prof. Dr. Jan Smits, Professor of Private Law at Maastricht University and Dean of the Faculty of Law, gave a welcome speech mentioning the research and training activities at the Centre.  Afterwards, General Guglielmo Luigi Miglietta of the NATO Headquarters Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum, discussed the importance of cybersecurity within the NATO’s purpose to safeguard the freedom and security of all its members by political and military means in a keynote speech. He stressed that in this respect, a robust cybersecurity posture of (critical) organizations is vital to prevent the exploitation of vulnerabilities in the context of cyberwarfare. He also remarked that there is a necessity to “stay united in terms of collective effort to protect privacy and cybersecurity”. 

Lieutenant Colonel Lee Smart, officer of the United Kingdom Royal Signal Corps, spoke about securing Command and Control networks and understanding the threat landscape that surrounds us in Cyberspace, briefing the audience about the threat landscape in Cyberspace domain.

Tomas Mogodia, Cyberspace Officer at NATO, then provided a brief on NATO activities in Cyberspace and in particular of securing the digital environment and privacy of citizens of NATO nations, also noting that the “First casualty of cyberwar will be privacy”. 

Concluding the keynote speeches, Guido Scorza, a Member of the College of the Garante per la Protezione Dati Personali (Italian Data Protection Authority), provided a thought-provoking presentation which underlined the concept that “when we speak about privacy, we speak about life”. 

A panel composed by Sara Agnello (Stellantis), Sarah Bakir (Rabobank), Rogelio Aguilar Alamilla (BNP Paribas), Nina Muller (Ethical Commerce Alliance), and Alexander McD White (Privacy Commissioner Bermuda) discussed the necessity for industry to take an ethical approach to data protection and data security-related matters. Emphasis was given by the panelists to the potential for such an approach to improve resilience, improve trust, and in general, positively contribute to the digital society. 

Finally, in the evening, at Chateau Neercanne in Maastricht, the Digital Pact for Privacy and Cybersecurity as Social Responsibilities was signed by members of the UM-DPCSR Permanent Stakeholder Group.  “The signature of the Digital Pact for Privacy and Cybersecurity as Social Responsibilities on 6 September 2023 by nearly 40 individuals confirms the need for the Framework for ethical data processing Paolo and I have developed at the Centre. I am optimistically looking forward to witnessing the implementation of the UM-DPCSR Framework across sectors thanks to our research” said Kate Francis, co-author of the Framework.