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25 October 2023
What does EU autonomy look like in the field of cybersecurity?
In today’s increasingly digitalized world, the importance of cybersecurity has grown exponentially, becoming an integral component in safeguarding democracy. As more aspects of our lives and government operations move into the digital realm, the need to protect sensitive information and critical infrastructure from cyber threats has become paramount. Ensuring the security of election systems, government data, and citizens’ personal information from external threats is crucial to upholding the principles of a democratic society.
The premise of the debate is the idea that foreign actors are using and abusing online spaces and digital tools to undermine, disrupt or even destroy the democratic foundations of the European Union and of its Member States. But the questions remain: How does one distinguish between cyber activism or civil disobedience, and cyber terrorism?, and How do cyber threats translate into actual damage, and how this is quantified and qualified?
We were honored to have an insightful conversation with Līga Rozentāle, Independent Consultant & Advisor, to assist us in tackling questions about foreign interference in democratic processes within the European Union.

About Līga Rozentāle
Līga Rozentāle is a senior leader with over 20 years experience on government digital transformation, security and public policy. Currently, Līga is developing an independent consultancy in her own name advising various public and private stakeholders on business development in the areas of digital economy, security and defence, combining her expertise in government and private sector needs on technology, security and future challenges. Additionally, Līga serves on the Advisory Group of ENISA, Women4Cyber Council, the EU Erasmus+ programme CyDiplo Advisory Board, the Global Cyber Alliance Strategic Advisory Committee.
Throughout her career, she has a track record on fostering innovation and thought leadership within the national, EU, NATO and UN context. In her recent role as Senior Director, Microsoft European Government Affairs (Cyber & Defence), Līga led a team to drive regulatory and nonregulatory impact on cyber issues for one of the world’s largest private sector companies. Previous to her role in the private sector, Līga served as the first Latvian cyber diplomat at the EU, NATO and the UN fostering in the age of cyberdiplomacy and addressing the complexities of the new 5th domain of warfare.
Līga is highly skilled at listening and responding to government and customer needs on addressing emerging security concerns and opportunities. She is a frequent public speaker engaging and challenging executive audiences globally. Līga has been named among top 50 most influential women in Europe on cybersecurity and has worked to mentor young professionals through Women in International Security, Women4Cyber and RīgaTechGirls.