Dutch hosting sector commits to security and autonomy

The event showed clearly that the Dutch hosting sector wants to play an active role in both building a more secure digital ecosystem and reinforcing digital autonomy. The relevance of topics such as security, abuse prevention, European cloud solutions and collaboration amongst government, investigative agencies, scientific community and business community was also emphasised.

Fighting abuse together

The tone was set even before the main programme got underway, by the German-Dutch Exchange Meeting on Anti-Abuse Practices, held at the same venue. The meeting was organised in partnership with German trade association eco, mainly for the purpose of exchanging expertise in the field of anti-abuse practices.

Its agenda covered both German and Dutch initiatives, and it soon became apparent that the practical, collaborative nature of Dutch initiatives make them internationally distinctive. Joint research and implementation make anti-abuse activities more effective. For example, Octavia de Weerdt told the meeting about the Dutch Notice-and-Take-Down Code for hosting providers. The code was updated by the sector at the end of August, and since July its adoption has been a condition of all government hosting contracts.

Open standards

Another topic that received a lot of attention was open internet standards. Gerben Klein Baltink, Chair of the Platform for Internet Standards, talked about the open-source tool underpinning Internet.nl, the website where organisations can test their support for modern internet standards. The ambition is to position Internet.nl more explicitly as a standard resource. As well as making it clearer where organisations stand, that would provide a springboard for the structural improvement of basic security.

Tracking down malicious infrastructure

Another practical example was provided by Marin Heidemann from the Dutch Cloud Community and Nico van Wijk from the Dutch police’s High-Tech Crime Team. They presented an initiative called Rotten Resellers, aimed at tracking down malicious actors who go through resellers in order to make use of Dutch infrastructure. The use of resellers means that providers often don’t know who is ultimately active on their infrastructures. Heideman and Van Wijk showed how the malicious actors can be tracked down and the infrastructure they are using identified, so that specific warnings can be sent to providers.

Gaming with the Public Prosecutor's Office

The Dutch Public Prosecutor's Office is also looking to work with the sector. Dyantha Fisser presented Capture the Red Flag, a ‘game’ where hosting service providers simulate incidents and test collaboration with relevant partners such as the government. The idea provoked considerable debate, especially about the absence of a list of malicious players. Such a list is apparently very difficult to provide under current privacy laws. The sector nevertheless intends to look at the issue again this year.

Digital autonomy implies independent decision-making

In the afternoon, the focus shifted to digital autonomy. Keynote speeches by former State Secretary Zsolt Szabó and respected economist Cristina Caffarra provided Dutch and European perspectives on the subject. The speeches highlighted how digital autonomy can be interpreted in different ways. It doesn’t imply digital isolation, but safeguarding the ability to make independent decisions about data, infrastructure, dependency and control.

Furthermore, digital autonomy represents an important opportunity for the Dutch hosting and cloud sector. Dutch and European service providers can help to increase freedom of choice, control and digital infrastructure resilience. Presentations by various European cloud solution providers demonstrated that digital autonomy is no abstract policy concept, but a tangible expression of the choices that organisations make about their digital environments.

A sector that’s open to cooperation

The main takeaway from Dutch Cloud Day is that the sector is ready to accept responsibility. Security, abuse prevention and digital autonomy are not standalone issues; they are directly relevant to the reliability of the Netherlands’ digital infrastructure. Therefore, cooperation is needed amongst individual providers, as well as with trade associations, government, investigative agencies and researchers.

With a well-attended programme, substantive sessions, excellent networking opportunities, the concluding National Cloud BBQ and the traditional National Server Throwing Championships, the event also provided convincing evidence of the strength of the community.