The Hague 2025

  • Drinks & bites
  • Speakers
  • Hackathon

About the event

August 21st

CyberSQUAD is back! After a successful third edition in the summer of 2024, the best cybersecurity event in The Netherlands fully dedicated to young professionals will return to The Hague this summer, August 21st. CyberSQUAD25 will be amazing again, so bring your friends and colleagues!

The non-profit foundations Connect2Trust, DIVD Academy and Jong-PvIB are once again inviting their networks and all alumni and 2025 students of the International Cyber Security Summer School (ICSSS) for an afternoon of knowledge sessions, meet-and-greets with thought leaders, cyber challenges and fun.

Afternoon program 12:00 – 17:00 at Amare

 

Evening program 18.00 – 23.00 at Azorra

Marc Simons

Marc Simons

Cryptomuseum

Marc Simons is a self-employed electronics engineer in Eindhoven (Netherlands). After studying electronics at the Polytechnic University of Eindhoven, he worked for several companies in the field of surveillance and security, before founding his own company at the beginning of the century, in January 2000. He has since specialised in the development of analog electronics and embedded platforms and sensors for agricultural applications.

In 2003 he co-founded the virtual Crypto Museum, which has since received international recognition. Crypto Museum has a physical collection of historical cipher machines and equipment for espionage, that is available on-line through its website. It is the goal to analyse, describe and restore as much of the equipment as possible, and share this information with the public.

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Paul Reuvers

Paul Reuvers

Cryptomuseum

Paul Reuvers is a self-employed electronics engineer in Eindhoven (Netherlands). After studying electronics at the Polytechnic University of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, he worked for several companies in the field radio, television and broadcasting, before founding his own company in 1986. He has since specialised in the development of embedded software for a variety of applications, including agricultural platforms and sensors.

In 2003 he co-founded the virtual Crypto Museum, which has since received international recognition. Crypto Museum has a physical collection of historical cipher machines and equipment for espionage, that is available on-line through its website. It is the goal to analyse, describe and restore as much of the equipment as possible, and share this information with the public.

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Aart Jochem

Aart Jochem

Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations

Aart Jochem was appointed CISO for the Central Government at the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in 2020.

He chairs the interdepartmental CISO council, is responsible for government-wide policy and frameworks, and coordinates the joint efforts in the field of digital resilience and privacy within the central government.

Aart was previously CISO at a pension fund provider. Prior to that, he worked as a member of the management team and head of Monitoring and Response at the National Cyber Security Center of the Ministry of Security and Justice, as a managing consultant at Capgemini, and as an innovation manager at Rijkswaterstaat (the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management).

Aart Jochem studied Computer Architecture and Digital Technologies at Delft University of Technology.

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Lilian Knippenberg

Lilian Knippenberg

Gemeente Den Haag

At the city of peace & justice, cyber- and information security is very important to keep the information and citizens of The Hague safe. My role as CISO is to work towards a high resilient organization against digital attacks, with an effective information security management system.

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Matt Psencik

Matt Psencik

Tanium

Matt Psencik started out his career by taking his lifelong passion for tech and putting it to use working for multiple organizations as a Security Analyst and Security Engineer before specializing in Endpoint Detection and Response software and helping found an EDR Services branch of an MSSP. During that role he architected and maintained large scale EDR deployments, developed detections, and provided professional services to large Fortune 100 companies.

Following that Matt joined Tanium under the professional services department before shifting into their Endpoint Security Specialist team helping enable and elevate Tanium vast customer base. Today Matt is a Director of Security Product Research and Design helping plan and drive Tanium’s security portfolio to best protect its customers in the ever-evolving threat landscape we live in.

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Klaus Kursawe

Klaus Kursawe

DNV

Security of Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and critical infrastructure is difficult enough in normal times—and becomes exceptionally challenging amid rising geopolitical tensions. This presentation explores the fundamental differences between traditional IT security and the specialized security needs of control systems found in modern critical infrastructure, such as the electricity grid, water treatment facilities, and transportation networks.

We will delve into how ICS environments centres around the process properties rather than the CIA model  in classical IT security, and why security solutions designed for IT often fail—or even cause harm—when applied to operational technology (OT) systems. This will cover unique ICS constraints , such as legacy hardware, real-time operations,  limited patching abilities, and unique supply-chain issues.

The talk will also examine recent real-world cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, highlight how geopolitical actors are leveraging cyber capabilities in asymmetric warfare, and offer ways forward on building resilience.

Dr.  Kursawe earned his PhD in 2001 from the University of Saarbrücken in collaboration with IBM Research Zurich, working on securely distributing services over unreliable networks. Following his doctorate, and before that topic became popular thanks to Bitcoin, he continued at IBM until 2003 with a focus on Trusted Computing, and later held positions at Philips, KU Leuven, and Radboud University as well as several Startups, where he further honed applied security research.

As co-founder and Chief Scientist of the European Network for Cyber Security (ENCS), Dr. Kursawe helped shape cybersecurity strategies for grid operators and national authorities across Europe, occasionally convincing engineers and policy-makers to agree on the same definition of “secure.” He has served on multiple international expert groups and contributed to research projects aimed at keeping the lights on and the turbines spinning.

More recently, he joined DNV, working primarily on training for the energy and industrial sectors, now also working on new challenges such as the energy transition and the impact of geopolitical events  on the security of critical infrastructures.

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Harm Teunis

Harm Teunis

Eset

In this keynote, we will share our experiences surrounding a unique situation in which we, as ESET Netherlands, played a crucial role in a national, public-private coordination effort. During the NATO summit in the Netherlands, we collaborated with the NCSC and other parties on real-time monitoring, joint threat detection, and public communication—from a temporary “War Room” setting.
The presentation demonstrates how collaboration under pressure works in practice, with concrete examples such as Operation Endgame and Project Melissa.

The key points of the session are:
• What the NATO summit meant for the digital threat landscape in the Netherlands
• How ESET contributed to coordinated national defense, beyond its commercial role
• Lessons learned & opportunities to scale this model across Europe

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Michiel Oosterwijk

Michiel Oosterwijk

NCSC

Michiel Oosterwijk has been working in various roles at the NCSC since 2014. In recent years, he led the Incident Response team and later the Fusion Centre. Recently, he has been primarily focusing on training and developing cyber talent in the Netherlands. Since 2019, he has been organizing the Challenge the Cyber CTF and the Cyberbootcamp for young people.

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Rik van der Brugge

Rik van der Brugge

Cinq ICT

Rik van der Brugge is a consultant at Cinq ICT and a Cribl Certified Consultant, focused on solving data-related challenges through smart observability and efficient data pipelines.

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Bouke Nijhuis

Bouke Nijhuis

Cinq ICT

Bouke Nijhuis is the CTO at CINQ ICT. He likes to learn new things and he loves to live code on the stage. Furthermore he is an international speaker and a committer of open source projects

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The program

Start time End time Organisation / Subject Location
12:00 12:10 Welcome Amare
12:10 12:40 Klaus Kursawe Amare
12:45 13:00 Gemeente Den Haag Amare
13:05 13:35 ESET Nederland Amare
Break
14:05 14:15 Hackthebox Amare
14:20 14:35 Cribl Amare
14:40 15:10 Crypto Museum Amare
15:15 15:45 Tanium Amare
Break
16:00 16:05 ESCO Amare
16:05 16:20 NCSC Amare
16:25 16:55 CIO Rijk Amare
16:55 17:00 Closing Amare

CyberSQUAD partners

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Sneak preview

Frequently Asked Questions

When will the event take place?

Thursday August 21th, 2025.

Who can attend this event?

The event is invite-only by the co-organizers Connect2Trust, DIVD Academy and Jong-PvIB. We also warmly welcome referrals to register for the event.

How can I register for the event?

Registration will be possible through Eventbrite via:
https://cybersquad-thehague-2025.eventbrite.nl/

Can I register separately for the afternoon and the evening?

Yes, on the registration page you can select which parts of the event you will be attending (afternoon or evening). We encourage everyone to attend both.

I don’t like to be photographed or filmed. How can I communicate my preferences?

During the registration process, you will be asked if you have any objections against being photographed or filmed. In case you have any objections, your nametag will indicate your preferences to the on-site professionals. They will do their best to keep you out of any footage. After the event, all footage will be edited and in the case you are in a photo or video it will be adjusted or deleted.

For what purposes will the photos and aftermovie be used?

With CyberSQUAD, we are building the next generation of CISOs, CIOs and CTOs. That requires constant engagement with the community. Photos of the event and the aftermovie will be used on social media and the Connect2Trust website for promotional purposes. The predominant social medium used by Connect2Trust to communicate about CyberSQUAD is LinkedIn via the C2T corporate account and the “CyberSQUAD community” page. In addition, footage may be used on the website for people to get an impression of the 2023 event. The used footage will give an impression of the day and not single out one or a few attendees.

Will the event be recorded?

No, the event is in-person only and no live video connection and/or recordings will be made. Only a few shots will be made for the aftermovie.

What will be the main language of the event?

CyberSQUAD is in English. We strive to bring together all young professionals in the Netherlands, regardless of their mother tongue.

What is the CyberSQUAD community?

CyberSQUAD is bringing together the next generation of CISO’s, CIO’s and CTO’s. Together, we are building a community that will last for years. That is what CyberSQUAD is all about. Join the SQUAD and become part of the community!

I have dietary restrictions. How can I communicate them?

You can communicate your dietary restrictions upon registration via Eventbrite. Should your situation change, please let us know via cybersquad@connect2trust.nl

I have another question that is not under the FAQ, how can I contact the organization?

You can always reach us at cybersquad@connect2trust.nl