Leiden University Student Repository

Baaren, Noah (2022)

The Centre(piece) for Cybersecurity Belgium: Analyzing Belgium’s New National Cybersecurity Plan With “Old” Governance Models

Bachelor thesis | Security Studies (BSc)

Despite the fact that the number of cybersecurity attacks in the EU and their impact have continued to increase in 2020 and 2021 (ENISA, 2021) and Belgium’s – the EU capital’s country – main cybersecurity governance organization’s effectiveness has been questioned in the past (Rondelez 2018), its new cybersecurity governance strategy from 2021 (CCB, 2021) has received little scholarly attention. This paper aims to assist in filling this literature gap and to provide information in the pursuit of creating the most appropriate networked (cybersecurity) governance model (e.g., Tagarev, 2020; Yusif & Hafeez-Baig, 2021) by performing qualitative research that applies Provan and Kenis (2008) their influential three models of network governance. This paper argues that the lead organization model convincingly fits the current Belgian cybersecurity landscape, largely because of the large, authoritative, and central role of the main organization: the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB, n.d...Show moreDespite the fact that the number of cybersecurity attacks in the EU and their impact have continued to increase in 2020 and 2021 (ENISA, 2021) and Belgium’s – the EU capital’s country – main cybersecurity governance organization’s effectiveness has been questioned in the past (Rondelez 2018), its new cybersecurity governance strategy from 2021 (CCB, 2021) has received little scholarly attention. This paper aims to assist in filling this literature gap and to provide information in the pursuit of creating the most appropriate networked (cybersecurity) governance model (e.g., Tagarev, 2020; Yusif & Hafeez-Baig, 2021) by performing qualitative research that applies Provan and Kenis (2008) their influential three models of network governance. This paper argues that the lead organization model convincingly fits the current Belgian cybersecurity landscape, largely because of the large, authoritative, and central role of the main organization: the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB, n.d., 2021; VSSE, n.d.-a, n.d.-b). This confirms an earlier academic prediction from 2018 that the Belgian landscape would develop into a lead organization network (Rondelez, 2018).Show less

national cybersecurity governance

Belgium

network governance

network governance model

qualitative research

Author

Baaren, Noah

Faculty

Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs

Supervisors

Mirzaei, P.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en