INTERPOL and British Telecom (BT) have signed an agreement which will see increased cooperation between the two organizations to prevent and combat cybercrime.
Signed at the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) in Singapore, the accord will see BT and INTERPOL share threat intelligence data relating to criminal trends in cyber-space, emerging and known cyber-threats and malicious attacks.
BT’s threat intelligence experts will provide the IGCI with their knowledge and unique insight into the evolving global threat landscape, helping INTERPOL in its efforts to identify and take action against cyber-criminals operating around the world.
Earlier this year BT was one of the seven private sector companies which provided support to an INTERPOL-led operation targeting cybercrime across the ASEAN region. 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 cyber-threat 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 British Telecom is an important step in our continued efforts to ensure law enforcement worldwide has access to the information they need to combat these evolving cyberthreats,” added Mr Nakatani.
Mark Hughes, CEO, BT Security, said, “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 identify cyber-criminals and hold them to account, while their intelligence will enhance our understanding of the challenges that we and other organisations face in the battle against cyber-attacks,” concluded Mr Hughes.
BT is the first telecommunications provider to sign such an agreement with INTERPOL.
