On October 21st, we held our second webinar “Cybersecurity decisions: How to stay informed and not get paranoid? Future measures for defending cyberspace.” facilitated by Natalia Zwarts from Hague University of Applied Sciences.
Professor Zwarts began her lecture on cybersecurity by outlining some of the most common threats in the cyber world: third-party reliance, large-scale ransomware attacks, AI misuse, and more. After this brief introduction, she shifted the focus to decision-making in our daily lives, starting with questions about how we each navigate the internet. Professor Zwarts explained that decision-making involves both rational and emotional mechanisms, with a third category for decisions made unconsciously where reasoning is not actively directed.
She then asked participants to try to make a list of their email accounts, websites, and software they use regularly. This exercise was followed by a discussion on how we protect these accounts and what steps we can take to improve our security online. We reviewed factors like the number of accounts we stay logged into and discussed specific security measures.

Professor Zwarts also introduced the website “Have I Been Pwned” (https://haveibeenpwned.com/), which helps users determine if their email addresses have been compromised in a data breach. She shared four practical strategies for staying secure: avoiding sensationalist news, subscribing to reliable cybersecurity resources, implementing employee training, and using access control measures. Finally, she emphasized the importance of regularly updating our inventory of online accounts, suggesting we review it monthly to stay vigilant.
“Every week, the education/research sector faces an average of 2,507 attempted cyber attacks, with everyone from nation-state groups to ransomware gangs and other financially motivated criminals putting schools in their crosshairs.“
Following Natalia’s engaging lecture, participants delved into thought-provoking questions that further widened their understanding of the security challenges in the cyber world and how we can strive away from risks we are all exposed to in our everyday online activities.
We express our appreciation to professor Natalia Zwarts for generously sharing her insights from his field and academic research with our PYN members, activists, and all other interested participants. We also deeply appreciate everyone’s active participation in this stimulating webinar.
We eagerly anticipate reconnecting with you all in our upcoming regional coffee webinar session on November 4th at 18:00 when we will talk with Željko Vukša-Fejzić about “Generation EU: How Young People from the Western Balkans are Shaping the Integration Process.”! You can already register for Željko’s lecture here and read more about our upcoming webinars here.