Interpol opens global 'nerve centre' to tackle cyber crime

Interpol has opened a Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) information centre that it hopes will become an international nerve centre in the fight against cyber crime.

The centre, based in Singapore, was opened by Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble, who confirmed that it will have a specific focus on developing effective ways to combat next-generation cyber threats.

"Police are traditionally trained to protect innocent civilians from harm; harm which is visible, or simply physical, in nature," he said.

"The widening intersection of our real and virtual lives challenges that very tradition, and with the IGCI Interpol now has a dedicated centre to tackle cybercrime so we can better protect citizens both on and offline."

The centre will house a forensic laboratory and Cyber Fusion Centre that will coordinate the efforts of law enforcement, industry and academia when identifying and combating emerging cyber threats.

The centre will borrow expertise from key security firms, including Kaspersky Lab and Trend Micro which will provide threat intelligence, hardware and software to establish and run IGCI's digital forensics laboratory.

Both firms will offer Interpol officers training sessions on malware analysis, digital forensics and financial threat research.

Kaspersky has also pledged temporarily to relocate one of its "top malware analysts" at the IGCI.

Noble said that he expects the security firms' expertise to prove an invaluable aid in the agency's ongoing battle to keep pace with the cyber crime community.

"The complex and ever-changing nature of the cyber threat landscape requires high-level technical expertise, and it is essential that law enforcement collaborates across sectors to effectively combat cybercrime and enhance digital security," he said.

The IGCI's opening comes soon after Kaspersky signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with law enforcement agency Europol under which both organisations will share intelligence on cyber threats.

Troels Oerting, head of Europol's European Cybercrime Centre, listed the agreement as a key step in the agency's bid to increase cyber threat information sharing between the public and private sectors.

"This MoU is a very good basis and foundation for extending our already well-functioning co-operation with Kaspersky Lab in our common endeavours to fight and prevent cybercrime in Europe and beyond," he said.

"It is important that we join our efforts, share our expertise and knowledge, and pursue our common objective - having a free and transparent, but also secure, cyberspace. This is another big step in the right direction for all of us."

The MoU is the second signed by Europol in recent weeks. The European Cybercrime Centre signed an MoU with the European Banking Federation on 24 September pledging to co-operate when combating cyber threats.

Kaspersky and Trend Micro are two of many security providers working to increase cyber threat intelligence sharing.

Scott McVicar, managing director of cyber security at BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, told V3 on 17 September that the advanced nature of many active cyber campaigns mean firms must begin sharing attack data.

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• Topics
• Security
• Public Sector
• Hacking
• cyber-crime
• malware