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Brussels to the Bay: Securing the hyperconnected EU-US perspectives on cybersecurity

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The livestream of this event is now available by clicking here. 

Cybercrime cost the global economy over $10 trillion last year, with public services, transport, digital infrastructure, finance, and manufacturing among the hardest hit sectors. Ransomware attacks are projected to occur every two seconds by 2031. As digital systems become increasingly central to economic and societal functioning, cyber threats are expected to intensify, prompting both the EU and the United States to refine their approaches through regulation, public-private partnerships, and international cooperation.

Against this backdrop, the Brussels to the Bay session, “Securing the hyperconnected EU-US perspectives on cybersecurity,” organized by the EU Office in San Francisco, convened Andrew Grotto (Stanford scholar and former White House Senior Director for Cybersecurity Policy under the Obama and first Trump administrations), Despina Spanou (Deputy Director-General at the European Commission, DG CNECT), Christiane Kirketerp de Viron (Director for Cyber at DG CNECT), and Edvardas Šileris (Head of European Cybercrime Centre, EUROPOL). 

The discussion took place amid new policy initiatives on both sides of the Atlantic. The EU recently introduced measures to strengthen EU cybersecurity resilience and capabilities while fostering market development through harmonised standards. In parallel, the White House published the “Cyber strategy for America,” signalling a shift toward a more proactive, technology-driven approach to securing digital infrastructure. While these models differ, both prioritise resilience and emerging technologies: the EU focuses on building a trusted marketplace through regulatory clarity, whereas the United States emphasises proactive defence and technological leadership. 

The panel explored how these approaches can complement one another to strengthen the global cybersecurity ecosystem, gathering panellists’ views and perspectives around key questions:

  • In what ways can these two different approaches complement each other to foster a more robust global ecosystem for cybersecurity entrepreneurship? 

  • With both regions identifying AI and quantum computing as critical frontiers, how can the United States and EU synchronise their efforts to build “trust infrastructure” that protects sovereign digital interests without creating fragmented markets for transatlantic companies? 

Additional themes included the rise of digital identity frameworks, EU business wallets, and the evolving role of AI and quantum technologies in next-generation cyber defence.

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KEY INFO

Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2026; Venue: EU Office in San Francisco - 1 Post Street, suite 2300

Meet our speakers: 

  • Despina Spanou, Deputy Director General for Networks and Technology - Cybersecurity coordination at DG CNECT, European Commission

  • Christiane Kirketerp de Viron, Director for Digital Society, Trust and Cybersecurity, DG CNECT, European Commission

  • Edvardas Šileris, Head of European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), EUROPOL

  • Andrew Grotto, Stanford scholar and former White House Senior Director for Cybersecurity Policy [moderator]

Despina Spanou, Deputy Director General for Networks and Technology - Cybersecurity coordination at DG CNECT, European Commission

Since November 2025, Despina Spanou is the Deputy Director-General in charge of the Directorate for Cybersecurity and Trust in the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) of the European Commission. Former Head of the Cabinet of the Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas (2019-2024), coordinated EU’s work on security, migration and asylum, health, skills, education, culture and sports. She also coordinated the Vice-President’s EU Security Union work, ranging from counterterrorism, organised crime and cybersecurity to hybrid threats. Prior to that, she was Director for Digital Society, Trust and Cybersecurity at the Director-General of the Directorate-General for Communications Network, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) and responsible for the EU’s cybersecurity policy and law, part of the management board of ENISA, and of the Steering Board of the Computer Emergency Response Team for the EU Institutions (CERT-EU). She is a founding member of the Women4Cyber initiative and advocate for the need for more cybersecurity experts in Europe. She also teaches EU Cybersecurity policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Despina Spanou is a member of the Athens Bar Association and holds a Ph.D. in European law from the University of Cambridge.

Christiane Kirketerp de Viron, Director for Digital Society, Trust and Cybersecurity, DG CNECT, European Commission

Christiane Kirketerp de Viron is the Acting Director for Cybersecurity and Trust at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) since July 2024. The Directorate spans a wide range of areas related to cybersecurity, digital identity and trust services. In 2022 she became the Head of Unit for cybersecurity and digital privacy policy with responsibilities for critical infrastructure resilience, product security, cyber defence and international cooperation in the field for cybersecurity. Between 2019 and 2022, she was Member of Cabinet to the Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn where her portfolio included the digital transformation and cybersecurity of the EU institutions, Bodies and Agencies as well as political advice related to Research and Innovation, Digital policies, Education, Space and Defence. Prior to this, she was a Cabinet member of the Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carols Moedas. Christiane is a political scientist from the University of Copenhagen and joined the Commission in 2006.

Edvardas Šileris, Head of European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), EUROPOL

Edvardas commenced as Head of the European Cybercrime Centre in 2020. He is responsible for the central collation of criminal intelligence on cybercrime across the EU, supporting member state investigations into online child sexual exploitation, cyber-dependent crimes, non-cash means of payment fraud, and crime on the dark web. His Centre collaborates closely with the Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT), a team of specialist cyber investigators from various countries. His teams at EC3 further provide digital forensic support in complex cases, strategic analysis of threats and trends, liaison with industry, academia and non- law enforcement partners, prevention and awareness, and capacity building. Before becoming Head of EC3, Edvardas was Deputy Police Commissioner General of the Lithuanian Police, also covering innovation, with 22 years dedicated to crime investigation.

Andrew Grotto, Stanford scholar and former White House Senior Director for Cybersecurity Policy 

Andrew J. Grotto founded and co-directs the Program on Geopolitics, Technology, and Governance at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), where he is also a William J. Perry International Security Fellow. He is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. Grotto serves as the faculty lead for the Cyber Policy and Security specialization within Stanford’s Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy Program. He teaches the core course for the specialization, “Fundamentals of Cybersecurity and Policy,” and teaches the graduate seminar “Economic Statecraft.” Grotto is President and CEO of Sagewood Global Strategies LLC, a technology policy and risk advisory firm. He sits on the Board of Directors for Slamfire Inc., the studio behind the AAA video game Back4Blood. Before coming to Stanford in 2017, Grotto served in the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government. He was the Senior Director for Cyber Policy on the National Security Council at the White House for two U.S. presidents. Before the White House, he was U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker’s Senior Advisor for Technology Policy, counseling the secretary on matters ranging from export controls and CFIUS reviews to cybersecurity policy. He served in the U.S. Senate as a Professional Staff Member of the Select Committee on Intelligence, where he led staff oversight of the budget and operations of the National Security Agency and U.S. Intelligence Community cyber operations and analysis, among other responsibilities. He began his career at a think tank in Washington, DC researching nuclear weapons-related matters. Grotto received his JD from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law, his MPA from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and his BA from the University of Kentucky.