Together with FPS Foreign Affairs, the Centre for Cyber Security Belgium coordinates Belgian representation in international cyber security forums.

At the European level in particular, there are many multilateral working groups and bilateral contacts with partner centres. Cyber security does not recognise any (national) borders. Thanks to the exchange of information, we can continuously improve our own projects and respond to cyber threats more quickly.

Belgium needs cybersecurity experts. In order to support young cybersecurity talents, we work closely with Belgian academic institutions that offer courses in cybersecurity. The full range of cybersecurity courses in Belgium can be found on our website. [link]

In order to encourage future cyber security experts, we also annually support the Cyber Security Challenge Belgium. This is a 'Capture The Flag' game played by teams of 4 students. The teams have to solve challenges that include various security issues such as cryptography, reverse engineering, network security, web or mobile application security, and wireless and forensic analysis. More information about this exciting competition can be found on the website. 

The fight against phishing is a priority of the Centre for Cyber Security Belgium. Phishing is a global problem and is the primary method criminals use to obtain fraudulent access to accounts or other data. That is why this phenomenon deserves our full attention.

In October 2017, we organised a national awareness-raising campaign to make the Belgian population aware of suspicious messages. We launched suspicious@safeonweb.be: if you have doubts about the authenticity of a message, you can forward it to this email address. We scan the messages forwarded to suspicious@safeonweb.be so we can take fake websites offline.

You can find more information about phishing and tips on safeonweb.be. The CCB uses safeonweb.be to inform and advise Belgian citizens quickly and accurately about cyber security, major current digital threats and online security. A phishing test allows you to measure whether or not you can identify phishing.

In 2018, the Centre for Cyber Security Belgium provided another specialised training course in cyber security. We do this in order to better equip civil servants against cybercriminals. Cyber security is evolving rapidly. If we want our federal computer networks to be secure, proper cyber security training is crucial.

The training courses are organised in collaboration with the Training Institute of the Federal Government (OFO). Experts from the public and private sectors were brought in as trainers.

The courses are mainly aimed at IT managers and security management. In addition, various technical introduction courses are offered to civil servants who are more involved with the technical side of things. In 2018, 420 officials received training across 13 different courses.

Officials who are not active in the IT sector can also brush up on their cyber security knowledge. Via OFO, they can register for an e-learning course that shows them all the ins and outs of the world of cyber security.

All courses offered through OFO in collaboration with the CCB can be found here.