B-CCENTRE

SABAM warns against ransomware!

Ruben Roex — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:29:31 +0000

Similar to the previously mentioned warning of the FCCU (see the post of 17 April 2012), SABAM – the Belgian association of authors, composers and publishers – has issued a warning regarding ransomware as well. Fraudsters are using SABAM’s name to lure people into paying a certain amount of money in order to free up their blocked computers. For more information on this particular case of ransomware, please click here (NL) or here (FR).

Unisys Security Index: Belgian citizens imagine themselves invulnerable online

Ruben Roex — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:44:40 +0000

Unisys’ half-yearly survey shows that, although the number of cybercrime incidents is on the rise, Belgian citizens do not believe it to be a significant and worrisome threat. Sixty percent of all respondents indicates that he or she hardly worries about computer security. People apparently presume that ensuring their safety online is a governmental responsibility, that it is not something they should bother themselves with. Prof. J. Dumortier, head of the B-CCENTRE, suggests that selective reporting by the press with insufficient attention to victimised individuals could be one of the causes for this lack of public awareness.

For more information on this topic, please click here for the Dutch version, or here for the French version of the official media notification.

FCCU warns against ransomware!

Ruben Roex — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:28:42 +0000

The Computer Crime Unit of the Federal Police (FCCU) has issued a warning regarding a new type of online attack. The malware poses as legitimate software delivered by domestic or foreign public authorities. It completely blocks the user’s computer and coaxes him into paying a certain sum, an action which allegedly will free up the system. Victims should by no means pay up, but should file a complaint with their local law enforcement officials, specifically requesting that the complaint is brought to the attention of the FCCU. Users that have not been affected as of yet by this attack are advised to install legitimate anti-malware software and to make regular backups of their data.

More information on how to identify and deal with this type of ransomware can be found here (only in Dutch or French). The FCCU has kindly provided some concrete tips on how to remedy the problem yourself.

For your information:

Ransomware can be defined as a type of malicious software that holds a computer, its data or a particular function hostage until ransom is paid. The making, spreading and/or using of this type of malware constitutes a felony, punishable under, separately or together, i.a. articles 210bis, 496, 550bis and 550ter of the Belgian Criminal Code.

European Commission Proposal for a European Cybercrime Centre

Ruben Roex — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:42:56 +0000

On the 28 of March 2012, the European Commission proposed the establishment of a European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) under the auspices of Europol. This Centre would be the Union’s key instrument in the fight against cybercrime. Concretely, the EC3 would – among other things – pool expertise and training efforts, as well as provide intelligence on demand to criminal investigators. More information on the conception of this European Cybercrime Centre can be found on the website of Europol, as well as on the Newsroom webpage of the DG Home Affairs.

For the official press release, please click here.

For the final report on the feasibility of a European Cybercrime Centre, please click here.

ISSE 2012: Call for Contributions

Ruben Roex — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:09:28 +0000

ISSE 2012

Information Security Solutions Europe Conference

23 – 24 October 2012, Brussels, Belgium

Call for Contributions

Organised by:

○ eema – The Independent European Association for e-Business

○ TeleTrusT – IT Security Association Germany

○ LSEC – Leaders in Security

Supported by:

EU Commission and ENISA – The European Network and Information Security Agency

This Call for Contributions is intended to…

…call for papers and other contributions such as round tables, panels and plenaries. Papers can be accepted for the ISSE Publication even if they are not presented at ISSE 2012.

For more information, click here.

B-CCENTRE has organised a day on national information sharing on 28 March 2012 in Brussels

Ann Mennens — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:46:34 +0000

The need for Information Sharing was the key subject of the 28 March conference. The agenda of the day included a series of presentations of existing initiatives from both public and private sector which are already contributing today to the facilitation of collecting and sharing information regarding cyber-attacks. Speakers presented activities established in France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany. The European Commission and Microsoft presented their strategy. Different actors involved in Belgium took the floor to highlight the specific situation and needs regarding information sharing in Belgium. The next steps to be taken were debated in a panel discussion and recommendations for the road ahead were formulated.

The target audience for the conference were all private and public actors confronted and dealing with cyberattacks as well as those in charge of tackling and combatting cybercrime. The conference was free of charge and open to the general public, subject to enrolment.

Please have a look at the briefing and the agenda of the conference.

Several presentations of the conference are now available on our website! To find them, click here or visit the Conference on National Information Sharing page.

The B-CCENTRE has been launched officially!

Eva Lievens — Sun, 29 May 2011 19:31:39 +0000

On Friday the 27th of May, the B-CCENTRE was launched by Minister Stefaan De Clerck, Minister Annemie Turtelboom, Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, and Prof. Jos Dumortier.

To officially inaugurate the centre the new logo was unveiled.

A report of the launch is available here.