ENISA and Europol have formed a “strategic cooperation agreement” to facilitate closer cooperation and exchange of expertise in the fight against cyber crime.
Following the announcement by GCHQ of sharing classified information about threats to the UK’s most critical networks to trusted partners, and Microsoft launching the Interflow security and threat information exchange platform, this agreement will aim to enhance cooperation between Europol, its European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) and ENISA.
The agreement does not cover the exchange of personal data, but may include: the exchange of specific knowledge and expertise; elaboration of general situational reports; reports resulting from strategic analyses and best practice; and strengthening capacity building through training and awareness raising, to safeguard network and information security at EU level.
ENISA executive director Professor Udo Helmbrecht and Europol director, Rob Wainwright, said in a joint statement: “This agreement is an important step in the fight against ever more skilled cyber criminals who are investing more time, money and people on targeted attacks.
“Our agreement demonstrates that we are highly committed to jointly contributing within our respective areas of expertise, and to support each other’s work in the quest to make Europe a safer place online. By cooperating more closely together and sharing expertise, we strengthen Europe’s capacity to combat cyber criminals.”