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Transatlantic cooperation on cybersecurity

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On Wednesday 7 October, representatives of the Dutch FI-ISAC and the US FS-ISAC signed a declaration of intent to cooperate closely on cybersecurity. The ceremony took place during the Flemish-Dutch economic trade mission at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Directors sign declaration of intent at the table, surrounded by colleagues in a meeting room.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte observes the signing of the declaration of intent.

Dutch financial institutions, including banks, had long shared information intensively about cyber incidents, threats and vulnerabilities. They were united in the Dutch Financial Institutions – Information Sharing and Analysis Centre (FI-ISAC). Its US counterpart is FS-ISAC, the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Centre.

Combating cybercrime

The cooperation created a bridge to hundreds of international financial institutions at once, helping to strengthen resilience and combat cybercrime. During the meeting, a Belgian delegation also signed a declaration of intent with the US FS-ISAC.

Better prepared

“FS-ISAC is an enormous source of knowledge that collects and analyses large volumes of attack patterns targeting financial institutions around the world every day. This cooperation gives us better insight into how criminals operate outside the Netherlands, allowing us to prepare more effectively for possible attacks in the Netherlands,” said Wim Hafkamp, chair of the Dutch FI-ISAC and Chief Information Security Officer at Rabobank.

“The growth in online payments makes this cooperation essential to protect our members. It will give us an even better understanding of which countermeasures are effective,” added Marco Doeland, Head of Risk Management at the Dutch Payments Association.

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