Cybersecurity: questions and answers

Security is still too often added after the design phase, leaving systems exposed and forcing organisations into a constant cycle of patches and incident response. TNO develops methods and technologies for Cybersecurity by Design and autonomous cyber resilience. These approaches make systems secure from the start, enable them to anticipate threats and allow them to recover automatically. This turns security from a necessary cost into a strategic advantage.

Cybersecurity research and innovation are critical to the future digital infrastructure of the Netherlands. The government is working to improve its understanding of R&D&I in order to develop more effective policy. To shape thematic research and innovation policy as efficiently as possible, insight into the impact of R&D&I is essential.

We therefore analysed the impact of cybersecurity R&D&I. Our study answers key questions about its societal and economic value, the current state of play in the Netherlands, the influence of policy, and future policy directions. We base our findings on statistical analysis and interviews. Read more in our paper (pdf) (in Dutch) or in the summary (pdf) (in Dutch).

Digital infrastructure has become too complex to defend manually. TNO is therefore developing Autonomous Cyber Resilience: systems that can protect themselves, detect attacks, recover locally, and adapt strategically - drawing inspiration from the human immune system. Self-healing software, guidelines and digital twins accelerate the adoption of autonomous resilience, allowing organisations to move step by step towards continuously tested and secure systems.

Combining data from different sources offers significant value. For example in healthcare, where integrating patient data across providers can unlock new insights and treatments. The challenge is how to do this without putting privacy at risk.

Through Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs), TNO develops secure methods for data sharing. One such method, Multi-Party Computation (MPC), enables parties to create a joint dataset without revealing their underlying data. Cryptographic techniques protect the data, allowing it to be shared without any party ever accessing another’s raw information.

Unknown weaknesses in software remain a major blind spot in IT security. At TNO, we research how organisations can use Automated Vulnerability Research to detect vulnerabilities as early as possible and remediate them automatically - strengthening resilience against cyberattacks.

Cybercrime does not stop at national borders, making perpetrators difficult to trace. They also exploit the anonymity of the dark web, which further complicates enforcement.

TNO develops technologies to detect the use of phishing kits, identify trends on the dark web, and help de-anonymise criminals.

While quantum computing offers significant opportunities, it also introduces new cyber risks. Cybercriminals can already store encrypted data today hoping to decrypt it later with a quantum computer. Protecting systems now is therefore critical. TNO develops targeted solutions for sector- and system-specific cryptographic vulnerabilities, especially where standard solutions fall short and advanced cryptographic engineering is required.

Cybersecurity is essential for every organisation, and employees play a key role. Demand for cyber experts is high and the shortage will only grow. Although cybersecurity needs differ across organisations, building a professional cyber workforce remains a major challenge for all - from foundational skills to top-level expertise.

Where do you find the right people? What skills do they need? And how do you train them? TNO offers an integrated, tailored approach to building a professional cyber workforce.