In an era in which digital is inextricably intertwined with every aspect of our lives, it becomes crucial to understand how our every online action can have repercussions in an offline world whose contours are increasingly less clear and more nuanced. “This reality exponentially increases what is called the attack surface of IT systems, making cybersecurity an essential component of every digitalization strategy”, observes Stefano Epifani, president of the Foundation for Digital Sustainability. “At the same time, we are faced with the inescapable need to act, in the management of these systems and thanks to these systems, in a sustainable way: a need that involves every level of society, from companies to governments up to individual citizens. These two challenges, although they may seem distant, are more intertwined than one might think.”
Sustainability and cybersecurity
The Foundation for Digital Sustainability, together with Gyala, has therefore developed a research path that has highlighted these interconnections in the recent study “Sustainability and Cyber Security”, presented to the Chamber of Deputies in recent days. The research analyzes how online security can converge with sustainability objectives, embracing the environmental, economic and social aspects in two dimensions: on the one hand by making IT security an element capable of guaranteeing sustainability (think of critical infrastructures, networks distribution, to citizen services), on the other hand looking at it as something to be managed according to sustainability criteria (think of the potential invasiveness of tools for monitoring user behavior, rather than the methods of storing their sensitive data). The study is based on the opinions of over 100 industry professionals, from cybersecurity experts to university professors, through researchers and innovation managers.
The areas of greatest impact
Three areas of crucial importance emerge from the analysis, each of which significantly impacts more than half of the Sustainable Development Goals defined by Agenda 2030.
- The first concerns the harmonization between the digital dimension of systems (IT) and the physical one, defined as OT, by “operational technology”. In other words, computer systems increasingly govern physical devices: it is therefore necessary to develop integration processes between these two worlds. This synergy is seen as essential for the protection of the environment, the resilience of critical infrastructures and their economic value, with a notable impact in the healthcare and energy sectors, in particular for the management of smart grids and renewable sources.
- The second crucial theme is privacy: from a sustainability perspective, protecting personal data becomes an ethical obligation and a lever to promote practices that respect the individual. The research highlights a strong convergence of opinions on the importance of protecting privacy especially in specific sectors, such as healthcare.
- Finally, emphasis is placed on Digital Sovereignty, or how States manage and regulate digital technologies and services used at a national level. Cybersecurity appears to be a critical element in this context, and the importance of investing in cybersecurity solutions that are free from external influences is underlined.