What Belgium is good at: waffles, chocolate and cybersecurity

By the way, don't just say cybersecurity, say cyber resilience. The term has been gaining traction for a while now and perfectly reflects the changing sentiment. It's about more than just security; recovering as quickly as possible after an incident is equally important. With a program on cyber resilience, ADM and MIT Club attracted over 150 CIOs and CISOs to the Royal Belgian Football Association in Tubize. Simply put, the topic will remain high on the agenda until further notice.

Just like smoking

Miguel De Bruycker, Director General of the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB), delivered the good news. Belgium is among the best in Europe when it comes to cybersecurity. Belgium also ranks in the top three globally in the international NCSI rankings (National Cybersecurity Index). However, there's still room for improvement, as cybercrime continues to rise. A simple solution can prevent a lot of misery: multi-factor authentication (MFA).

"Unsafe online behavior is like smoking," says De Bruycker. "People know there are risks involved, but they keep doing it." A survey by the CCB shows that 80% of Belgians know what MFA is and what it does. And yet, only 53% use it. "We see this in the business world as well. There's always someone who doesn't think MFA is necessary." But that one person is precisely the weak spot that hackers are looking for.

The VAR is watching

"We manage a great deal of sensitive data, such as video analysis of matches and data on the individual performances of the Red Devils," says Arnaud Lieutenant, CIO at the Royal Belgian Football Association. Unauthorized access to this data could have a significant impact, for example, on an opponent's strategy. But even so, the Football Association cannot do without technology for its daily operations. In its systems, the association manages the data of 550,000 members affiliated with 3,600 clubs, representing almost half a million matches per season.

From its headquarters in Tubize, the association also manages the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) during top-flight matches. "The VAR helps the referee make the right decision," says CISO Kurt Baetens. "Communication between the VAR and the pitch must be perfectly secure." Imagine if a hacker hijacked the connection and showed the referee different, deepfake footage... Even the illusion of manipulation with the VAR—even if it turns out not to be—would lead to a crisis of confidence. But Baetens reassures: "There's a plan in place if things go wrong."