Meet the Cyberhive Ambassador Jörg Audörsch a new arrival to the Cyberhive Task Force!

In January 2025, Jörg was elected as one of the Chairs of the SME2Market Workstream within the European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO).  In addition to his role at ECSO and the Cyberhive, Jörg is the Co-Founder of ESCRA, a Germany-based organization. Discover how his journey into cybersecurity began and why he believes Cyberhive is a game changer for Europe's cyber future, with a special focus on driving open-source innovation.

Could you briefly describe your career path and current position?

I’ve been fascinated by computers and security topics since childhood—which naturally led me toward a career in IT and cybersecurity. One of the most defining milestones in my professional journey was the design and implementation of the IT infrastructure for an entire factory from scratch, a company operating in the offshore wind industry. This project allowed me to take a holistic approach, integrating the requirements of the Smart Service World as well as IT and operational security from the very beginning. In early 2023, I founded the startup ESCRA (Easy Secure Remote Access) together with my son, Lennard Rixecker. At ESCRA, we offer an OSS (Open Source Software) Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solution, aiming to make advanced security accessible to everyone and easy to implement.

Why did you (ESCRA) become a member of ECSO?

As a cybersecurity company, we firmly believe that cybersecurity must be conceived and developed at the European level. ECSO’s mission and vision—to connect and actively strengthen the European cybersecurity landscape, fully align with our goals at ESCRA. We joined ECSO to help shape this mission and to be part of an engaged community that drives innovation and resilience in European cybersecurity. We are particularly excited to contribute our initiative Cyberhive—a platform that promotes open collaboration in the field of cybersecurity and fosters cross-border knowledge exchange. Within ECSO’s network, we see the opportunity to establish Cyberhive as a central hub for companies, startups, and experts, driving transparency, collaboration, and sovereign European security solutions

What would you like to tackle in ECSO to further develop the European security landscape?

Together with our colleagues from the ECSO Working Group SME Market, we are committed to connecting European companies and organizations through the Cyberhive platform. Our goal is to foster greater transparency, collaboration, and knowledge transfer within the European cybersecurity community. By strengthening the network of actors across sectors and borders, we can build trust and significantly accelerate the adoption of secure digital solutions throughout Europe. Cyberhive is intended to serve as a central platform to unlock this potential collectively. 

Our ambition is to lay the foundation for creating global cybersecurity players from within Europe (independent, innovative, and competitive). Through our work within ECSO, we aim to actively contribute to shaping a more resilient, better-connected, and future-ready European cybersecurity ecosystem.

What are the major challenges we will have to face in the field of cybersecurity in the coming years? What decisive steps do you see for the coming months and what does this mean for the European security landscape?

Cybersecurity is now vital across all sectors—military, public, critical infrastructure, commercial/business, and private, since IT has become deeply integrated into every aspect of our daily lives. As a result, the attack surface is more diverse and expansive than ever before. One of the major challenges we face is the urgent need to build a resilient and sovereign European security infrastructure. This will require a coordinated and determined effort across Europe. We must connect key stakeholders and experts, foster collaboration, and consolidate our strengths. Only through collective action can we ensure long-term digital security and independence. In the coming months, a decisive step will be to promote security through AI, and to do so using open, European-driven solutions. These technologies must be developed transparently, openly, and collaboratively—principles that are embodied by OSS solutions like Mistral and other  to build trust and create scalable, sovereign alternatives to non-European systems. Now is the time to lay the foundation for a strong, united, OSS-based European cybersecurity ecosystem.

What does digital sovereignty actually mean in concrete terms and what do you think is necessary to achieve it?

Digital sovereignty means having the ability to operate software on the infrastructure of one’s own choosing—with the flexibility to migrate or adapt systems as needed, without external constraints. It also requires full control over data: data sovereignty must be ensured both by the underlying infrastructure and the software itself. Equally important is the ability to independently review, modify, and maintain the software. 

This transparency and autonomy are essential to reduce dependencies and ensure long-term security and trust. In essence, digital sovereignty within the European security landscape is a strategic approach to regaining control over digital technologies, reducing reliance on non-European providers, and safeguarding both security and data protection in an increasingly connected world.

How does dependence on non-European tech providers threaten Europe's cybersecurity?

Independence from non-European states is absolutely essential for Europe's cybersecurity. Recent political developments have clearly demonstrated that even the most cooperative international relationships cannot eliminate the risks associated with technological dependencies. No matter how strong a partnership may appear, reliance on external providers always carries strategic vulnerabilities. Europe must urgently reduce these dependencies—there is no more time to lose.

Digital sovereignty is not just a technical or economic issue; it is a matter of political maturity and resilience. Only a self-reliant and independent Europe can act as a credible, equal partner on the global stage. The time has come for Europe to take full responsibility for itselfand step into its role as a mature digital power

What role do you think that the Cyberhive should play in achieving European strategic autonomy?

Cyberhive is designed to become a central platform for developing a digital, sovereign, and collaborative European cybersecurity ecosystem. It brings transparency to the cybersecurity market and actively promotes cooperation between companies, startups, and experts across Europe. 

My vision is to establish an open and dynamic environment that supports the joint development of security solutions. Open source plays a key role in this—its transparency fosters trust, and its collaborative nature enables faster innovation and cross-border scalability.

To strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy, we need to support open source as a core element of our digital strategy. With platforms like Cyberhive, we can lay the foundation for a new generation of secure, sovereign European technologies—driven by cooperation, independence, and innovation.