On 24 May 2023, ECSO organised its very first Cyber Solution Days event in Helsinki, Finland. The event was hosted by ECSO Member WithSecure in the morning of WithSecure’s flagship conference SPHERE23, gathering cybersecurity talents from a large variety of backgrounds to discuss one of the most acute topics in cybersecurity today: securing the supply chain. ECSO also invited distinguished professionals to give keynote speeches and presentations on securing the supply chain. Moreover, with the aim to strengthen the European cybersecurity market and foster competition, leading European cybersecurity providers were invited to pitch their brand-new innovative solutions in front of a Jury panel consisting of esteemed European CISOs, with the two best pitching companies nominated to go on to compete in the ECSO CISO’s Choice Award final.
As cybersecurity threats become increasingly more sophisticated, the European cybersecurity community must be able to provide solutions for these challenges. As such, the following leading European providers had the unique opportunity to present their cutting-edge innovations to solve the issues of supply chain cybersecurity in front of market leaders and potential buyers:
When all the pitches had been presented, the European Jury of CISO’s took on the difficult task of selecting the two best pitches. After careful deliberation from distinguished Jury members, we are delighted to announce that Binalyze and Cyber Trust were selected as the companies with the best pitches.
”We are thrilled to have been selected as one of the two best companies at ECSO’s first Cyber Solution Days for Cyber Security of the Supply Chain. The opportunity to pitch directly to a distinguished and experienced jury of CISOs was unprecedented as well as the ability to meet directly with representatives from the National Cybersecurity Center Finland. The Keynote by Risto Siilasmaa has inspired us to explore new ways to integrate Binalyze’s advanced and automated digital forensic & incident response platform for our enterprise customers”
Klaus Peter Finke-Härkönen
Board Member of Binalyze, Business Development Advisor
Having established their position amongst the best cybersecurity solution providers of the European cybersecurity market, Binalyze and CyberTrust will move on to the final competition: the ECSO CISO’s Choice Award, which will be held together with ECSO’s STARTup Award, in early 2024. ECSO congratulates the nominees on their success.
”We are very excited to be selected as one of the top two companies on the first ECSO Cyber Solution Day in Helsinki. It shows that our approach to strengthen cybersecurity within the supply chain by creating transparency on baseline security, with a special focus on SMEs, is sustainable and meets the needs of the market in Europe.”
Thomas Stubbings
CEO of Cyber Trust
In addition to the companies’ pitches, distinguished cyber specialists joined the event to give speeches on their own experiences in the field. Risto Siilasmaa, founder of F-Secure and WithSecure Corporations and Chairman of WithSecure Corporation, opened the event with his keynote speech on his experiences with supply chain security and what it takes to become a successful business. Mr Siilasmaa highlighted that while it is necessary for any entrepreneur to have high-quality solutions to offer, what makes success is finding the right market for it – one that is growing. Alongside Siilasmaa, Petteri Ruohomäki, CISO from Ilmarinen, held his keynote presentation on how to tackle cybersecurity supply chain issues from a CISO’s point of view. Mr Ruohomäki stressed the need for a comprehensive risk assessment to identify vulnerabilities in the supply chain as well as the importance of active and open risk communication with vendors. Finally, Jouni Vaahtera from National Cyber Security Centre in Finland (NCSC-FI) contributed to the discussion by presenting NCSC-FI’s new campaign, ”Ketjutonttu”, one of a series of research trials aiming to improve the cybersecurity of supply chains in Finland – a campaign for which interested Finnish companies can sign up until the end of June 2023.
The first event of the Cyber Solution Days initiative was a great success, bridging the gap between supply and demand through means of a lively atmosphere, new connections, and stimulating conversations. It also serves as a reminder of the need for- and importance of the products and services that European companies can provide. ECSO wishes to thank all attendees for taking part in the event. Last but not least, we also want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our valued member and co-organiser WithSecure for their help and hospitality. ECSO is looking forward to seeing you at future Cyber Solution Days as well as in the ECSO CISO’s Choice Award Finals in early 2024; stay tuned.
