Interview - NIS Summer School with Prof. Angelos Bilas, FORTHICS and Dr. Demosthenes Ikonomou, ENISA, Members of the Programme Committee of the 2nd ENISA-FORTH Summer School on Network and Information Security (NIS'09)

In the following article ENISA Senior Expert Dr. Demosthenes Ikonomou and Prof. Angelos Bilas of FORTH-ICS and the Univ. of Crete, Programme co-Chairs of the 2nd Network and Information Security (NIS) Summer School, taking place in Crete, Greece, 14-18 September 2009, will tell us more about the Summer School in Crete.

Could you first describe the Summer School and who the organizers are?

The Summer School is a forum for experts in Information Security, policy makers from EU Member States and EU Institutions, decision makers from the industry, as well as members of the research and academic community, where they can interact on cutting-edge and ground breaking topics in Network and Information Security. Each year the Summer School has a special theme focusing on cutting-edge topics that guide the selection of the lecturers and topics. The theme for the 2009 NIS Summer School is "Privacy and Trust in a Networked World".

The Summer School is jointly organised by the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) and the Institute of Computer Science (ICS) of the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH).

Why have you chosen this focus area?

Network and Information Security (NIS) is a fundamental aspect of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) of everyday computers and mobile phones. Its widespread adoption is crucial for improving productivity, learning, and leisure. Constant advances in ICT are creating new opportunities for growth in European economy and for improving quality of life for its citizens. At the same time, these advances pose new challenges to NIS, requiring a high-level of alertness, solid understanding of technology and trends, and continuous refining and adjustment of strategic options.

Moreover, ENISA is dedicated to promoting a culture of security in Europe that will impact positively on the ability of EU Member States to respond to cyber-attacks. It does so by pursuing a strategy of mitigating risks through awareness, studies, reports and Position Papers on current NIS matters.

Today, privacy and trust are crucial concerns for any service, application, and transaction offered over public communication networks. Their importance is expected to increase and broaden even more with the Future Internet. Therefore, ensuring integrity of information, protecting the source of information, and establishing trust, among individuals as well as in their interraction with objects and pervasive devices are key challenges.

These multiple facets of the Privacy and Security theme will be covered by lectures and discussions on key policy, legal, academic and research aspects. Towards this objective, the NIS'09 program includes 20 distinguished lecturers from around the world that will identify current trends, threats, and opportunities against the background of recent advances on NIS measures and policies, especially in issues related to privacy and trust.

How does this differ from any other seminar/conference?

The main differentiating factor is the target audience. A considerable number of established events in this field already exist mainly addressing the interests of the research community. In this light, we consider that there is an opportunity for the creation of an event that addresses the needs of senior policy/decision makers from both the public sector as well as industry. This decision, that was taken early on the life of the event, is reflected in all the lectures given in the context of the summer school namely putting an emphasis on the relevant policy aspects given rise by the latest trends in ICT. Another difference is the format of the Summer School, where presentations are by invitation only to ensure both high quality and coherency on the topics.

How many participants took part to last year's NIS'08? Can you give some examples of participants?

Last year's event that constituted its first edition attracted the participation of 80 professionals in the field of Network and Information Security. The Summer School participants represent policy and decision makers from national as well as international bodies, such as National Regulatory Agencies, the European Commission, legal and technical advisors of various organizations, the telecommunication and consumer electronics industries, the banking sector, and academic and research organisations.

Can you tell us more in detail what the topics are?

The lectures of the NIS'09 Summer School are grouped under five thematic areas that represent some of the latest trends in ICT and give rise to a number of threats and opportunities. These are:

- Privacy and Security in the Internet of Things
- Privacy and Security in e-Citizen Services
- Privacy and Security in Social Networks and 3D Social Worlds
- Privacy and Security in Smart Environments
- Enhancing citizens' confidence on infrastructures


Who are the keynote speakers?

Recognizing the multi-dimensional facets of the Privacy and Security theme, an array of lectures will cover a variety of key aspects on policy, legal, and research matters. Concerning the keynote speakers, among them are two European Parliament members 'MEPs',

- Dr. Jorgo Chatzimarkakis (DE),
- Prof. Ioannis Tsoukalas (GR),

and the European Data Protection Supervisor, Mr. Peter Hustinx.

The US and EU perspectives on privacy and trust in a networked world will
be presented by:

- Dr. Peter Freeman, former Assistant Director of NSF, heading the
Computer & Information Science & Engineering Directorate, initiator
of the GENI Internet Research project and

- Dr. Joao Da Silva, Director of the Network and Communication
Directorate of the European Commission, that oversees all the EU funded
R&D work relating to mobile communications, broadband networks
including satellite communications, audio-visual and home networks;
software engineering and ICT for enterprise applications.