How Belgium Keeps its Citizens Safe from Scams, Miguel De Bruycker, Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium - Global Anti-Scam Summit Europe 2024

How Belgium Keeps Its Citizens Safe From Scams

Date of recording: 2024-06-24

Event: Global Anti-Scam Summit Europe 2024

At the Global Anti-Scam Summit Europe 2024, Miguel De Bruycker from the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB) discussed Belgium’s comprehensive strategies for protecting its citizens from online scams and cybersecurity threats.

De Bruycker emphasized the importance of clear leadership in cybersecurity efforts, noting the current confusion around roles and responsibilities among various sectors. He highlighted Belgium’s initiatives to tackle this issue, focusing on active cyber protection without infringing on privacy or resorting to aggressive countermeasures like hacking back.

Key initiatives include:

Suspicious Email Reporting:  Belgium's CCB receives almost 10 million suspicious emails annually through the address suspicious@safeonweb.be , providing insights into scam activities and informing their response strategies.

• Anti-Phishing Measures:

• Belgian Anti-Phishing Shield:  Utilizing DNS routing in collaboration with major ISPs to warn users about malicious domains.

Stop Phishing Project:  Filtering malicious SMS and emails, significantly reducing phishing attempts.

Public Awareness and Tools:

• SafeOnWeb Browser Extension:  A browser tool that validates legitimate websites, helping users distinguish between safe and potentially harmful sites.

• Portal and App for Scam Warnings:  Platforms to alert the public about ongoing scams.

Collaboration and Information Sharing:  De Bruycker stressed the need for cooperation among national CERTs, law enforcement, ISPs, and the financial sector to combat scams effectively. He also invited international collaboration, highlighting the unique scam patterns within different language communities in Belgium.

De Bruycker concluded by underscoring the necessity of combining various "silver egg" solutions to create a robust defense against evolving scam tactics and ensuring that Belgium stays ahead in the fight against cybercrime.