The Cybersecurity Coalition and the Cyber Threat Alliance hosted the third annual CyberNext BRU conference in Brussels. This year’s event was organized around the theme of Building the European Cybersecurity Ecosystem, bringing together panelists from EU institutions, industry, and academia for a program of keynotes, panels, and fireside chats.

Panel 1 - Unleashing the European Cybersecurity Industry: Competition, Simplification & Financing 

• Ari SCHWARTZ, Coordinator, Cybersecurity Coalition (Moderator)
• Katherina SOMMER, Director of Government Affairs and Analyst Relations, NCC Group
• Karla FONTAINE, Digital Policy Manager, Schneider Electric
• Ilias CHANTZOS, Global Privacy Officer and Head of EMEA Government Affairs, Broadcom

The panel opened by reflecting on how the 2024 Draghi report served as a watershed moment,  pushing Brussels toward regulatory simplification so that European companies can compete on the world stage. Karla Fontaine highlighted NIS2 and public procurement rules as prime candidates for streamlining, noting that — unlike other sectors that seek deregulation — the cybersecurity industry simply wants well-implemented, flexible rules that drive productive outcomes. Ilias Chantzos welcomed the European Commission’s Digital Omnibus proposal, but cautioned against viewing it as a “silver bullet.” He argued that the EU’s deeper problem is market fragmentation, and that absolute digital sovereignty is not achievable in part due to that challenge. Katherina Sommer offered a trust-based framework for thinking about sovereignty and flagged that heavy compliance burdens force companies to divert budget away from materially improving their security.

Panel 2 - Europe’s Quantum Moment: Operationalizing Quantum Capabilities and Deploying Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC)

• Michael DANIEL, President & CEO, Cyber Threat Alliance (Moderator)
• Fabiana DA PIEVE, Program Manager, Emerging and Disruptive Technologies, European Commission Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG Connect) 
• Chris GOW, Senior Director for EU Public Policy, Cisco 
• Stefan KÖLBL, Staff Software Engineer, Google 

Michael Daniel opened the panel by making the case for why the quantum transition deserves serious attention right now. Stefan Kölbl explained that quantum computers will not replace classical computing, but will render all current public key cryptography obsolete — making the transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) a critical priority. 

Fabiana Da Pieve noted that DG Connect is already working with Member States to steer their PQC migration strategies. On the question of whether Europe needs its own PQC standards, she pointed to Europe’s genuine cryptographic expertise — particularly in Belgium and the Netherlands — and noted that the algorithms selected by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are themselves built on European mathematical foundations. 

Chris Gow observed that while China has pursued a fully independent standards path and others like Korea and India have taken a hybrid approach, a wide range of countries are endorsing the NIST standards outright — a positive development that industry would like to see the EU join. Looking ahead, panelists urged organizations to begin — if they have not already — mapping their cryptographic dependencies, assessing the lifecycle of their cryptographic keys, and evaluating how easily their encryption can be swapped out. As one panelist put it, it took 25 years to properly implement RSA cryptography: this is a program, not a project.

Commission Keynote 

• Christiane KIRKETERP DE VIRON, Acting Director of Cybersecurity & Trust, Directorate H, European Commission Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG Connect) 

In her keynote, Christiane Kirketerp de Viron said that the world is living through a “fasten the seatbelt moment,” defined by a shift from isolated cybersecurity incidents to persistent, continuous risk, alongside an AI-driven acceleration in the pace of vulnerability discovery. While noting that the EU’s cybersecurity framework provides a strong foundation, she identified the proposed Cybersecurity Act 2 (CSA2) and the Digital Omnibus as important next steps in adapting to this environment. She also emphasized that sustained investment in cybersecurity should remain a priority in the forthcoming negotiations over the EU’s 2028-2035 Multiannual Financial Framework.

Panel 3 - Geopolitical Shifts: Building Trusted Partnerships for a Resilient Cyberspace 

Fireside Chat - CSA 2.0 and the Future of ENISA 

• James LOVEGROVE, Director of EMEA & APAC, Red Hat (Moderator)
• Manon LE BLANC, Coordinator for Cyber Issues and Deputy Head of the Hybrid Threats and Cyber Division, European External Action Service (EEAS) 
• Coleman MEHTA, Vice President of Global Policy, Infoblox 
• Bernard MONTEL, Field CTO EMEA, Tenable 

James Lovegrove opened by flagging the European Commission’s forthcoming “Tech Sovereignty” package, slated for release in the coming weeks. Then, the panel then turned to what digital sovereignty actually means in practice. Bernard Montel, argued that sovereignty is fundamentally about trust, which he said depends on balancing transparency with control. Coleman Mehta noted that “digital sovereignty” means different things to different people, but identified resilience and the ability to avoid vendor lock-in among its core elements. That said, he agreed that trust is central, and that industry must demonstrate a genuine commitment to Europe’s success.

Manon Le Blanc highlighted that the EU and U.S. are strong partners on cybersecurity, highlighting the many dimensions of EU-U.S. alignment, including integrated markets, similar threat landscapes, shared values, and overlapping capacity-building efforts. She noted that the EU has been stepping up its leadership on cybersecurity in recent years through bilateral dialogues, regional engagement with partners, and participation in international groups, such as the UN Global Mechanism.

Discussing the need for effective engagement between EU institutions and industry, James Lovegrove pointed to the European Commission’s April 2026 CRA Application Guidance as a positive example of collaboration in practice. Looking ahead, Coleman Mehta highlighted emerging risks associated with AI agents as an area where continued partnership will be necessary to address evolving challenges. He noted that there is currently no standardized method for identifying such agents across platforms and warned that a lack of visibility into what is operating within an environment presents a significant security risk.

Fireside Chat - CSA 2.0 and the Future of ENISA 

• Alex BOTTING, Senior Director of Global Security and Technology Strategy, Cybersecurity Coalition (Moderator)
• Florian PENNINGS, Associate Chief Cybersecurity and Operational Officer, ENISA 
• Riccardo MASUCCI, Managing Director, Government Affairs EMEA, Intel 

This session focused on the Commission’s CSA2 proposal and what it means for the future of ENISA. Discussing ENISA’s perspective Florian Pennings indicated that ENISA welcomes the expansion of its responsibilities, particularly its role in supporting and complementing Member State expertise. He emphasized, however, that the ability to deliver on this mandate will depend on adequate resourcing, noting that the proposal currently provides only a baseline level of funding and staffing. He also stressed that building operational capacity and institutional trust takes time, and that increased resources do not translate into immediate capability. 

Riccardo Masucci also supported ENISA’s expanded mandate and underscored the need to provide sufficient human and financial resources. At the same time, he raised concerns about the potential concentration of responsibilities at the EU level and the risk of overlap with Member State authorities. On cybersecurity certification, Florian Pennings welcomed elements of the proposal that support the maintenance of certification schemes and strengthen ENISA’s mandate to engage stakeholders in their development and evolution.

Panel 4 - Beyond Compliance: Making Incident and Vulnerability Reporting Work For Everyone

• Alex BOTTING, Senior Director of Global Security and Technology Strategy, Cybersecurity Coalition (Moderator)
• Stefano DE CRESCENZO, Head of Operations and Situational Awareness, ENISA 
• Boryana HRISTOVA-ILIEVA, Head of Sector Cybersecurity of Critical Infrastructure, European Commission Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG Connect) 
• Mo CASHMAN, Global Field CTO, Trellix 
• Rafal KLOSEK, Senior Manager for Cybersecurity Policy, Microsoft 

The panel addressed the increasing complexity created by overlapping incident reporting obligations under NIS 2, DORA, the CER Directive, eIDAS, and the GDPR. Boryana Hristova-Ilieva explained that the Digital Omnibus proposal’s Single Entry Point (SEP) would be designed to function as a conduit, routing incident reports to the appropriate authorities without altering the substantive requirements of each underlying framework. ENISA would act as a service provider to Member States in developing the technical infrastructure supporting this system. 

Stefano De Crescenzo described the decentralized architecture in greater detail, saying ENISA would provide Member States with pre-configured platforms that they can then customize as needed. He expressed confidence that such a system could be secured, despite concerns recently raised by some Member States. He also emphasized that effective reporting depends on two factors: simplicity – the ease of use for reporting entities – and value – meaning that reporting should deliver tangible benefits rather than functioning solely as a compliance exercise.

Rafal Klosek highlighted the role of incident reporting as a tool for active defense, noting that the proposed system could accelerate the flow of information to the relevant authorities and improve response outcomes. In the same vein, Mo Cashman emphasized that “report once, meet many requirements” should become the standard approach across the security industry. 

On international alignment, panelists welcomed efforts to harmonize reporting frameworks with like-minded jurisdictions such as the United States. At the same time, they noted that achieving consistency within the EU remains a significant challenge and should be the primary focus. Boryana also underscored the role of industry in continuing to advocate for harmonization and in helping to build the political momentum necessary to advance these efforts.

Recordings of the event can be found here and information on all previous CyberNext events can be found here.

‍