Cyber threats from diverse state actors give the European Union more sovereignty when it comes to Cyber Security products and a strong ecosystem around knowledge, innovation, and European companies. To contribute to this, the final of the European Cybersecurity STARTup Award took place on 5 and 6 April in The Hague. Europe’s premier start-up matchmaking event focused solely on digital security.

This event was organised by the European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO) in collaboration with InnovationQuarter’s Investments department, Security Delta (HSD), The Hague Convention Bureau, TIIN Capital B.V. and The Municipality of The Hague. The preliminary rounds of the European Cybersecurity STARTup Award previously took place in 6 EU countries. During the final, start-ups, SMEs, cybersecurity experts, investors and top European policymakers gathered in The Hague to select the winner of this prestigious award.

Autonomous European Digital Sovereignty

Gaining visibility and investments, as well as access to a larger European market is often quite difficult for SMEs and start-ups within a fragmented European cybersecurity market. To overcome this and increase awareness and visibility of advanced cybersecurity companies on a European and global level, this annual award competition has been created. The Cybersecurity STARTup Award competition embodies the European value of diversity and aims to build a stronger and autonomous European digital sovereignty by investing in the backbone of the European economy: SMEs and start-ups.

In the end, Passbolt was announced as winner of the European Cybersecurity STARTup Award 2021. Read here who were the other finalists.

The Hague International City of Peace, Justice and Security

The choice to hold this event in The Hague (Netherlands) is not a coincidence. The Netherlands is the highest ranked EU country among the most powerful countries in the Cyberspace-ranking of secureworld.io and is in fifth place. In addition, The Hague has established itself as the international city of peace, justice and security. The Hague is therefore an important hub for cybersecurity in Europe, with the presence of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, NATO Communications and Information Agency, the Dutch Cybersecurity-, Intelligence- and Security Services and a wide range of cybersecurity companies.

Due to the presence of security cluster Security Delta (HSD), The Hague also has an ecosystem around cybersecurity, with around 275 public and private partners who work together to ensure the security of our digitising society.

The HSD Campus in The Hague forms the core where people meet and come together and attracts companies. The ecosystem is designed to facilitate organisations by providing access to knowledge, innovation, talent, capital and market.

Signing MOU between ECSO and Security Delta (HSD)

Cooperation within Europe in the field of security is becoming increasingly essential. Partly in the context of European independence and recent conflicts and threats. The joint organisation of the ECSO STARTup Award Finals in The Hague is therefore a great opportunity to announce a closer collaboration between ECSO and Security Delta (HSD). As a Dutch security cluster and European cyber security organisations, there are
opportunities to mutually reinforce each other nationally, bilaterally and across Europe as a whole.

With this in mind, Luigi Rebuffi (Secretary General and founder ECSO) and Joris Den Bruinen (Director of HSD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the second day of the event, making ECSO and HSD a mutual partner. This means that cooperation is mainly sought in the areas of communication (disseminating activities of European cyber innovations and activities to strengthen the position of Europe and its innovative SMEs), capital (by providing innovators with access to investors and vice versa and jointly look at how European funding in the field of cyber can be optimised) and strengthen the ‘Cybersecurity Made in Europe’ label by investigation whether HSD can become the issuer of this label within the Netherlands.

“Collaboration and partnership are in ECSO’s DNA, so we are glad to work together with the Dutch cybersecurity ecosystem. This is an important element in ECSO’s vision to build a strong cybersecurity ecosystem in Europe”, said ECSO Secretary General Luigi Rebuffi. “The signature of the MoU between ECSO and Security Delta (HSD) demonstrates that many more impactful collaborations will come in the future”, he concluded.

“Signing the MoU between ECSO and Security Delta (HSD) will provide additional impact within the cybersecurity sector in Europe. It does not only open doors for Dutch SMEs and start-ups, but also offers opportunities for other European cybersecurity companies to gain a foothold in the Netherlands. By cooperating with each other in Europe, we are closing the gap in a fragmented cybersecurity market and ensuring that we continue to strengthen each other in a sustainable way.”, says Joris den Bruinen (Director of HSD).