Constructing an Alliance for Value-driven Cyber­security

Constructing an Alliance for Value-driven Cyber­security (CANVAS) is the first project that provides an integrative view on the ethical and regulatory issues of cybersecurity. CANVAS unified technology developers with legal and ethical scholar and social scientists to approach the challenge how cybersecurity can be aligned with European values and fundamental rights. The project brought together stakeholders from key areas of the European Digital Agenda – the health system, business/finance, and law enforcement/national security – for discussing challenges and solutions when aligning cybersecurity with ethics. A special focus of CANVAS is on raising awareness on the ethics of cybersecurity through teaching in academia and industry.

Canvas results and contributions

The results of CANVAS focus on three target groups that critical for promoting a secure and innovative ecosystem through fostering the creation of cybersecurity technologies aligned with European values. For each group a Deliverable has been produced. For policy makers, briefing packages will be produced, that summarize the main findings of CANVAS. For academic teachers and industry experts, a reference curriculum has been generated that outlines how ethical and legal issues related to cybersecurity can be implemented in the training of cybersecurity experts. Students in ICT or related fields can learn about these issues in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).

The CANVAS project has identified several gaps with respect to ethical research and European cybersecurity regulation that need to be addressed by future research and innovation. In 14 workshops, CANVAS has unified several dozen experts of cybersecurity with a particular focus on non-technical aspects. This expert pool provides a resource for future projects that want to focus on responsible research and innovation in cybersecurity. Through its teaching material, CANVAS provides the foundation that the future generation of cybersecurity experts obtains basic insights and knowledge on how to tackle ethical and legal dilemmas in cybersecurity.

Visit CANVAS page now and explore more details about their Briefing Packages, Curriculum, MOOC and Book.