Conference Matters 144

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

ce t Knox

phishing (fraudulently sending e-mails or other messages to induce individuals to reveal perso nal information such as passwords or credit card numbers). Someone clicks on a link, which triggers a chain of events. If you’re lucky, it’ll only be spam. However, if a hacker gets access to sensitive data or sys tems, things can quickly become unmanageable.” Hoffmann works with behavioural psychologists and others to understand why people continue to behave unsafely despite warnings. “You can tell users 20 times not to click on suspicious links, but the 21st time it happens anyway. Then the problem is somewhere else.” The nervous system of society In CSAN 2024, the NCTV (National Coordina tor for Security and Counterterrorism) referred to digital processes as the nervous system of society. If these processes are disrupted, it impacts the organisation and often other parts of the digital ecosystem. This was the case in July 2024, when a bug in CrowdStrike’s software caused hospitals, airports and government servi ces to shut down worldwide. In the Netherlands, operations had to be postponed, and air traffic via Eindhoven came to a complete standstill. “Such incidents highlight the importance of digi tal resilience, especially now that many organi sations rely on a few large cloud suppliers. That is an area of vulnerability. If something goes wrong there, you feel it everywhere right away,” says Spruit. The conference sector is also vulnerable Both experts emphasise that conference sector organisations need to remain vigilant. When pro cessing the personal data of visitors, suppliers and staff, organisations use many forms of communication, including emails, open networks and last-minute changes that carry additional risks. “The event industry continues to believe that it’s not an interesting target,” says Molenaar. “But it’s precisely this attitude that makes them vulnerable. They have customer data, ticket information and bank account numbers.

15