Nicolas Mayencourt, program director of the Swiss Cyber ​​Security Days, talks about digital sovereignty, Europe's dependencies and the uncomfortable truths of the digital future.

What does digital sovereignty encompass – and why is it so urgent right now?

Digital sovereignty means: We retain control of our future. And that very remote control is currently slipping out of our hands.

How do you get citizens, the state, businesses, and critical infrastructure involved in an event?

By showing them that cyber risks are not democratic. They affect everyone – at the same time. The SCSD is where we learn together to swim faster than the waves.

What uncomfortable truth about Europe's digital dependencies is being underestimated?

We're not just importing technology – we're importing worldviews and ideologies. Whoever controls the technology controls the narratives.

What will happen if Switzerland loses its digital autonomy tomorrow?

We would realize how dependent we truly are – and faster than we'd like. The digital light doesn't go out, but someone else decides how bright it remains.

What is more realistic: true independence or new digital alliances?

Independence is an ideal. Alliances are reality. What's crucial is that we have partners – not guardians.

Which technology will be the most powerful lever in five years – and what will surprise us?

The most powerful lever: AI that we not only use, but understand. The surprise: How accustomed we've become to dependencies without even realizing it.

Are we too late with regulation – and what is irreversible? Too late?

No. But we definitely missed the "early bird" phase. Only data that we've given away is irreversible.

What concentration of power is underestimated?

We underestimate the power of digital gatekeepers – those few platforms that determine what we read, see, and hear, what we talk about, and what we buy. Dr. Cristina Caffarra fits so well into this debate because she doesn't just analyze this power – she dissects it. As a leading competition economist who has worked for years at the intersection of Big Tech, regulation, and market structures, she precisely demonstrates how deep these dependencies run and what consequences this has for the economy and society.

Which of Bruno Giussani's theses is the most controversial.

His demand for intellectual sovereignty strikes at the heart of Europe: technology can be bought, but self-respect and courage cannot.

What common question would you ask Dr. Cristina Caffarra, Bruno Giussani and Prof. Dr. Dr. Oliver Hoffmann?

I would like to hear a perspective from Dr. Cristina Caffarra, Bruno Giussani, and Prof. Dr. Dr. Oliver Hoffmann that connects their different fields of expertise: Caffarra as an expert on the power of digital platforms, Giussani as an observer of global technology and societal trends, and Hoffmann as a scientist who researches how we make decisions. From them together, I would like to know: “Who will control our decisions in the future—ourselves, foreign nations, or machines?”

If you could control Switzerland's full digital sovereignty for a day – what would you do?

I would declare a 24-hour moratorium on digital addictions. Just to see how nervous we all get.

What digital addiction do you personally have – or what misconception do you encounter most often?

My personal addiction is analog: maté tea. The most common misconception: "Cybersecurity is an IT problem." No. It's a societal problem.