Recently, Cyberveilig Nederland published the white paper Digital autonomy in practice: from dependency to control. As a member of Cyberveilig Nederland, we are proud of this publication, which discusses an important and topical subject in a clear and pragmatic manner. Instead of limiting the discussion to geopolitics or legislation, the white paper brings digital autonomy back to what it is ultimately about: cybersecurity, risk management, and business continuity.
For organizations struggling with questions about cloud usage, dependencies, and digital resilience, the white paper offers a valuable perspective for action. At the same time, at RiskStudio, we see an opportunity to add a crucial first step: you can only exercise control over dependencies that you actually know.
Digital autonomy is not an anti-cloud story
One of the strongest messages from the white paper is that digital autonomy does not mean that organizations must say goodbye to American hyperscalers or exclusively use European technology.
In fact, the Ukrainian case from the prologue shows that cloud technology can be essential for the continuity of an organization. The problem is not the cloud itself, but dependency without demonstrable control.
The question therefore shifts from:
“Where is my data located?”
to:
“Who has access to it, how dependent am I on my suppliers, and can I continue to function if one of them fails?”
That is a much more relevant discussion.
From sovereignty to demonstrable control
The white paper makes an important distinction between three concepts:
- Digital resilience – the ability to absorb and recover from cyber incidents.
- Digital sovereignty – legal and administrative control over data and systems.
- Digital autonomy – the freedom of action to make independent choices and limit dependencies.
The conclusion is clear: organizations do not need to become completely independent, but must consciously manage their digital dependencies. After all, European legislation such as NIS2 and the Data Act does not demand full autonomy, but rather demonstrable risk management and supply chain control.
Insight is the first step
The white paper mentions a number of concrete questions that every organization should ask itself:
- Which suppliers are essential to our business operations?
- Which data is so sensitive that unauthorized access is unacceptable?
- Which processes come to a standstill if a supplier fails?
- How dependent are we on a single cloud provider or technology partner?
That sounds logical, but in practice, this proves surprisingly difficult for many organizations to answer. Many organizations do not know exactly:
- which cloud providers they use;
- which SaaS services are part of their digital chain;
- which hosting providers support their public services;
- which certificate authorities are used;
- which CDNs, DNS providers, or infrastructure partners are involved.
And that is precisely where digital autonomy begins.
The role of RiskStudio
Where the white paper primarily describes which measures organizations should take, RiskStudio helps organizations first gain insight into where their dependencies actually lie.
RiskStudio automatically maps out, among other things, for your own organization as well as your direct and indirect suppliers:
- an organization’s most important public domains;
- cloud providers used;
- hosting and infrastructure suppliers;
- certificate authorities;
- CDNs and DNS providers;
- dependencies within the digital supply chain.
This creates an objective picture of the external digital infrastructure on which an organization relies daily.
Digital autonomy requires continuous monitoring
Digital dependencies are constantly changing.
New cloud services are added, infrastructure moves, suppliers change, and acquisitions can result in critical components suddenly falling under a different jurisdiction.
Digital autonomy is therefore not a one-time inventory, but a continuous process.
By providing organizations with daily insight into changes within their digital ecosystem, RiskStudio supports not only cyber risk management, but also governance, compliance, and strategic decision-making regarding supplier dependencies.
From insight to control
The white paper concludes with a powerful message:
Digital autonomy is ultimately not about political choices, but about business continuity.
We fully agree with that. Encryption, key management, exit strategies, and adaptive architectures are all important measures. But every improvement begins with the same question: What are we actually dependent on?
Only when those dependencies are visible can organizations make informed choices about risks, suppliers, and continuity. And that is exactly where the role of RiskStudio begins.
Want to know more?
Curious how RiskStudio can help your organization gain insight into digital dependencies and strengthen control over your digital ecosystem? Please feel free to contact us or request a demo.
