Information security now!
The Connect4Cyber – Brokerage and Info Day, held at the end of August, brought together a wide range of cybersecurity professionals from Finland and across Europe. The event, hosted at Business Finland’s headquarters, offered a full house of discussions on current funding opportunities, technological development trends, and international cooperation.
The event placed particular focus on funding calls in the healthcare sector, themes around post-quantum cryptography, and funding opportunities aimed at SMEs. The event was opened by Anssi Kärkkäinen, Director General of the Finnish Cybersecurity Centre, and Luca Tagliaretti, Executive Director of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC). The strong presence of the ECCC added significant value to the event: in his speech, Tagliaretti emphasized the importance of European cooperation, and ECCC Programme Officer Florina Munteanu shared practical tips on funding applications and proposal writing.
The program also featured topical expert presentations on cybersecurity challenges in the healthcare sector (Jari Jauhiainen, Bittium) and the future prospects of post-quantum cryptography technologies (Visa Vallivaara, VTT). A panel discussion explored how research and product development efforts can be brought to market through European collaboration.
The atmosphere was lively even outside the official program: participants actively networked, exchanged ideas and contact information, and the pitching session attracted attendees from Finland, Estonia, Sweden, Lithuania, and Iceland.
Connect4Cyber also served as a forum for cooperation between National Coordination Centres, as representatives from Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Norway, Lithuania, and Hungary had the opportunity to meet each other. The event generated a great deal of interest and received positive feedback overall; on the back of this successful gathering, it provides a solid foundation to continue discussions, consider new project ideas, and seek out new partners for forming consortia.
The event was organized by Finland’s National Coordination Centre (NCC-FI), Estonia’s Information Security Authority (RIA), Sweden’s Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) and its National Coordination Centre (NCC-SE), Business Finland, and the Finnish Information Security Cluster (FISC).
