Cybersecurity: A State-of-The-Art Review

The NCTV (Nationaal Coordinator Terrorismebestrijding en Veiligheid – ‘National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism’) partners with government, science and business in order to both protect the Netherlands against threats that can disrupt society, and ensure that Dutch vital infrastructure is – and remains – safe. Digital transformation has reshaped our world and will continue to disrupt the status quo. While technology is a key driver for realising societal and economic benefits, it also brings about new security challenges. The government of the Netherlands, Dutch businesses, civil society and individuals currently face a range of prominent, emerging and resurgent cybersecurity risks and threats. As concluded in the Cyber Security Assessment Netherlands (CSAN) from the NCTV the country’s digital resilience continues to lag behind the growing cyber threat.RAND Europe examined the current state-of-the-art in cybersecurity. In this context, state-of-the-art refers to a snapshot overview of prominent risks, threats or policy issues in the field of cybersecurity, as well as issue areas that are perceived to be overlooked by the NCTV or the scientific community. The cybersecurity state-of-the-art review is divided into two phases:Phase 1 aims to perform an initial scan of the cybersecurity field in order to highlight prominent or underexposed issues that are perceived to warrant further attention from the NCTV;Phase 2 aims to investigate the research questions identified in Phase 1, and will be carried out through a separate study.The study only covers Phase 1 of this process. The overarching aim of this study is therefore to explore which current cybersecurity topics are relevant to be explored further through additional research in Phase 2.