UK-based British Telecommunication (BT) said that it has become the first telecommunications firm to sign a data exchange agreement with INTERPOL as it continues to step up its efforts to combat the growing incidence of cybercrime across the globe. The accord, signed at the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) in Singapore, provides a framework for threat information exchange focusing on data relating to criminal trends in cyberspace, emerging and known cyberthreats and malicious attacks.
The mutual data sharing agreement will foster greater cooperation between the two parties as they continue their fight to protect families, consumers, businesses and governments against the rising tide of cyber-crime. BT's threat intelligence experts will provide the IGCI with their knowledge and insight into the evolving global threat landscape, helping INTERPOL in its efforts to identify and take action against cybercriminals operating around the world.
BT already collaborates closely with INTERPOL and earlier this year was one of only seven international companies with security expertise to provide assistance for a major operation to combat cybercrime in South East Asia. BT's threat intelligence and investigation team, based at the company's security operations centre in Singapore, provided information on regional threats, including data relating to local hactivist groups and phishing sites.
The wider operation uncovered nearly 9,000 command and control (C2) servers, which are typically used to launch Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and spread malware, ransomware and spam. Hundreds of compromised websites, including government portals, were also discovered as a result of the investigations.
“The scale and complexity of today's cyberthreat landscape means cooperation across all sectors is essential if we are to effectively combat this global phenomenon,” said Noboru Nakatani, executive director of the IGCI. “INTERPOL's agreement with BT is an important step in our continued efforts to ensure law enforcement worldwide has access to the information they need to combat these evolving cyber threats,” added Nakatani.
“Threat intelligence sharing between law enforcement agencies and the private sector is essential in the fight against cyber-crime, which is increasingly borderless in nature. Tackling cyber-crime therefore requires a collective, global response where the public and private sectors work hand-in-hand. BT's security expertise will help INTERPOL to identify cyber-criminals and hold them to account, as we jointly develop our understanding of the challenges that we and other organisations face in the battle against cyber-attacks,” said Mark Hughes, CEO, BT Security.
