UK operator BT has signed an agreement with Europol, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Co-operation, to share knowledge about major cyber threats and attacks.
The two organizations are aiming to redouble their efforts to create a safer cyber space for citizens, businesses and governments.
The agreement, which was signed by both parties at Europol’s Headquarters in The Hague in the Netherlands, provides a framework for BT and Europol to exchange threat intelligence data as well as information relating to cyber security trends, technical expertise and industry best practice.
Europol created the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) in 2013 to strengthen the law enforcement response to cybercrime in the EU in a bid to better protect EU citizens, businesses and governments from online crime.
It also operates the Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT), which aims to drive intelligence led, coordinated action against key cybercrime threats and targets by facilitating the joint identification, prioritization, preparation and initiation of cross-border investigations and operations by its partners.
Earlier this year, BT meanwhile became the first telecommunications provider in the world to start sharing information about malicious software and websites on a large scale with other ISPs via a free online portal – the Malware Information Sharing Platform (MISP).
Since the platform was launched, BT’s worldwide team of more than 2,500 cyber security experts have so far helped to identify and have shared the details of more than 200,000 malicious domains. The recipients of BT’s threat intelligence data have then been able to take the appropriate course of action to protect their customers and stakeholders against the specific threats identified.
“As one of the world’s largest cyber security businesses, we at BT have long held the view that coordinated, cross border collaboration is key to stemming the global cybercrime epidemic,” BT VP of security threat intelligence Kevin Brown said.
“We’re working with other law enforcement agencies in a similar vein to better share cyber security intelligence, expertise and best practices to help them expose and take action against the organized gangs of cyber criminals lurking in the dark corners of the web.”