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Conclusion

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Conclusion

The SENTINELS program aims to give a very significant boost to security expertise in the Netherlands: by providing and managing resources for scientific research in information security, by building a national IT-security community, and by disseminating the results into society (education, industry, government, public authorities, hospitals, etc.) in the Netherlands. Program management and project management is done according to the usual Technology Foundation STW's procedures.

The SENTINELS budget is estimated to be 13 M. From this amount, 10.4 M is available for research on computer, network and information security, 1.3 M for office costs and program management, and 1.3 M for knowledge exchange activities. This allows for a large impulse in security research. This, six workshops and two brokerage events, a VICI-style professor and a security ambassador, guarantee extensive knowledge exchange, resulting in a spin-off which cannot be obtained without SENTINELS.

The main beneficiaries of the SENTINELS program are the citizens and companies who will enjoy a better organized handling of their legitimate security and privacy expectations in communication and transactions. This will result in an improved economic performance of the Netherlands.

Trust is very important: it is essential for many economic activities in the digital age. It is of crucial importance that the Netherlands should strengthen its position to keep playing its role as an equal partner and to avoid becoming dependent on other nations in areas that are essential for the Dutch economy.

The economic importance of secure ICT, networks and information systems is tremendous since many organizations are victim of attacks. Their costs are difficult to estimate, as organizations are reluctant to disclose how much damage is done by inadequate security. The research described in this proposal is very important for Dutch industry, which can be seen e.g. by the letters of intent written by major industries appended to the end of this proposal.

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