European Cyber Security Group Formed to Augment Protection

The European Cyber Security Group (ECSG), founded by the Danish CSIS, Dutch Fox-IT, French Lexsi, and Spanish S21sec firms, is a private consortium that has been formed to address the need for increased global collaboration in enhancing Europe’s cyber security requirements.

Menno van der Marel, chairman of ECSG and director and cofounder of the Dutch firm Fox IT, said “Organizations are increasingly faced with cyber-security incidents both major and minor, from data leaks to DDoS attacks, to advanced persistent threats that can bring them to their knees. Effectively dealing with those incidents is a specialist job, and oftentimes, specialist firms may be faced with a temporary lack of resources to address client needs.

“ECSG partners are committed to delivering resources for each other to ensure that best-in-class expertise can be deployed to clients across the globe,” Marel added.

Although each country in Europe operates its own cyber-security agency that strives to maintain the security of its own electronic borders, individual countries do not usually cooperate with others to protect citizens and prosecute perpetrators.

To serve this purpose, ECSG has initiated the partnership which will enable more than 600 cyber-security experts to respond to cyber threats immediately. The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) and the ECSG will work in tandem to tackle cyber-crime, which is impossible for a single organization to handle.

ECSG is also expected to leverage its experience to advise governments, corporations and regulators to help in cyber-defense policy issues, risk prevention and mitigation practices. It will also enable cross-border information-sharing, thereby controlling the occurrence of cybercrimes.

ECSG will be the largest European provider of CERT services and will collaboratively deliver comprehensive and rapid services for corporate and government clients. Members will work both independently and with ECSG partners.