Cybersecurity Executive Programme concludes successfully, graduating a further 50 senior decision-makers

The 5th edition of the Cybersecurity Executive Programme came to a close on Tuesday with the now traditional simulation exercise of a cyber incident involving critical infrastructure. The closing ceremony for this advanced training course, which was attended by around 50 executives from companies and public sector organisations, took place at the The Eletricity Factory in Lisbon. Following the proceedings, the closing session took place in conjunction with the FSAS Summit, organised by Fsas Technologies – a Fujitsu company. The closing session featured presentations by José Ribeiro, Director of the National Unit for Combating Cybercrime and Technological Crime at the Judicial Police; Hélder Guerreiro, Colonel in the Portuguese Air Force; Pedro Baptista, from the Regional Government of the Azores; António Casimiro, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Lisbon (Ciências ULisboa) and Scientific Coordinator of the Cybersecurity Executive Programme; and Telmo Vieira, Executive Coordinator of the Cybersecurity Executive Programme and Managing Partner at PremiValor Consulting.

“When a CEO or a board member attends this programme, something fundamental changes: cybersecurity is no longer seen as an IT department issue but is understood as a strategic matter of governance and personal responsibility,” replies António Casimiro.

Developed in partnership by Ciências ULisboa and Premivalor Consulting, the Cybersecurity Executive Programme sets as one of its key objectives “a transformative and lasting impact” on the way managers, directors and executives view the technological, financial and legal aspects that underpin the field of cybersecurity. “A leader who understands cybersecurity risks asks more informed questions at board meetings, demands a more resilient organisational culture and makes different decisions, for example regarding investment in cybersecurity,” explains António Casimiro.

After three months of the course, participants not only gain an understanding of best practices in the prevention and mitigation of cyber incidents, but also have the opportunity to earn 4 ECTS credits. And that is by no means a trivial matter. “This fifth edition has consolidated the Cybersecurity Executive Programme as the national benchmark for executive training in cybersecurity, making it the only programme of its kind in Portugal with formal academic recognition through the awarding of ECTS credits,” explains Telmo Vieira.

This programme also featured trainers from the National Cybersecurity Centre, the Banco Portugal, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), the Portuguese Criminal Investigation Police, EDP, Vodafone, Palo Alto Networks, Minsait-Indra, Premivalor Consulting and Broseta.

Telmo Vieira points out that this executive training took place at a time when the Network and Information Security Directive 2 (NIS 2) and the DORA Regulation, which aims to ensure best practices in digital resilience for the financial sector, have already been transposed into national law. The legislative changes transformed “the course content, which is no longer a preparation for what is to come but has become a concrete response to what is already law”. “The approximately 50 trainees left this session with a clear understanding of their current legal responsibilities, not future ones,” emphasises Telmo Vieira.

The profile of the participants in this edition of the Cybersecurity Executive Programme, comprising predominantly board members and C-level executives, was exceptional. “This level of seniority creates opportunities for discussions that go beyond the syllabus, transforming the programme into a genuine forum for sharing experiences and the specific challenges these organisations face on a day-to-day basis,” notes Telmo Vieira.

The head of PremiValor Consulting notes that, throughout the course, participants had direct contact with some of the country’s most renowned experts, as well as international specialists, who addressed cybersecurity from academic, regulatory, judicial, financial and business perspectives. The course concluded with a final tabletop exercise, placing participants in a cybersecurity crisis management simulation in an executive setting, led by Rear Admiral António Gameiro Marques, former coordinator of the National Security Office, and Commander José Vale Matos, head of the consultancy Made2Coach and a former officer in the Portuguese Navy. “For many, this was perhaps the most memorable moment of the programme, placing them in situations where they had to tackle, in a structured and secure manner, the decision-making process during a specific cybersecurity incident,” says Telmo Vieira.

The course, developed in partnership by Ciências ULisboa and Premivalor Consulting as part of the INNCYBER INNOVATION HUB, is aimed at senior decision-makers, thereby strengthening Ciências ULisboa’s standing and visibility within society. “These are not ordinary students: they are leaders who, by attending this programme, establish a direct and lasting relationship with Ciências ULisboa. This has a reputational and relational value that goes beyond the training itself,” concludes the Vice Dean of Ciências ULisboa.