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Inter- agency collaboration is the art and act of promoting active working relationship among diverse security agencies in order to reduce costs and cybercrime.
Intelligence sharing is a crucial tool in the dissemination of information and strategies for assessing and responding to cybersecurity threats thereby protecting the cyber space from widespread access. This is to ensure the protection of critical infrastructure and cybersecurity in general.
In cybercrimes prevention, cooperation and partnership have to be developed through formal and informal mechanism both at the global and local level. The public profile of cybercrimes is on the increase daily. As such, Businesses, organizations or companies are enjoined to seek ways to keep their data/ information safe through intelligence sharing and inter-agency collaboration as a defense mechanism and measures. There should be proper coordination and cooperation among cybercrimes investigators, financial investigators, forensic experts, and prosecutors to work together, share information to combat threats.
The fight against cybercrimes isn’t a one agency job but requires collaborative efforts. The global nature of cybercrimes portrays that countries or organization cannot rest on its own measures to address issues arising. In 2017 Interpol World Conference held in Singapore, Interpol president Meng Hongwei said that, “government officials, law enforcement officers, scholars, private sector operators and cyber services provider have a role to play in mitigating cyber threats that may be out of our imagination in terms of scale, speed and influence’’.
Exchanging intelligence and cyber information among agencies helps to allow them to leverage their collective experiences, knowledge and capabilities to deal with the cyber threats. This enables informed decision about defensive mechanisms, threat detection techniques, strategic policies as well as the mitigation strategies. With these, agencies act in the public interest to ensure safe operation in the cyber space.
The Functionality of inter-agency collaboration and intelligence sharing
Inter-agency collaboration is a knowledge-centered approach that enables the creation and leveraging on intelligence and information. The functionality to fight cybercrimes include;
- Decision making support which occurs from frequent and open lines of communication to promote healthy dialog and information sharing across all levels of partnership.
- Reduction in operational risk
- Help to understand and create the desired effect against cybercrimes
- Increase the pace, coherence, efficiency and effectiveness of operations.
- Developing strategies , providing resources for activities and executing of missions
- Rapidly identify all forms of threats, persons involve in cybercrimes activities.
- Derivation of information by collecting, blending, analyzing and evaluating intelligence from diverse sources in order to address cyber threats.
Why should there be inter-agency collaboration and intelligence sharing?
Collaboration or partnership is one of the best weapon in the fight against cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities. The best way is collaboration and cooperation through actionable intelligence from variety of sources. Sharing information across all vertical and public or private organization must be proactive in order to effectively deal with cybersecurity illegal activities.
There are increasing f threats to the security intelligence today that makes it difficult to be managed by organizations. There is a major struggle for organizations in the ever-evolving threats, expanding attacks, and lack of security expertise shortage. Security teams can only manage and access a small fraction of those cybersecurity attacks. As a results, many threats go undetected due to slow responses to activities that operate at a machine speed level, lack of sophisticated technology devices which makes it a major worry in the cybersecurity chain. Actionable information that are proactive among all stake holders across border can help to deals with cybercrimes and cybercriminals at a much faster rate.
Cyber experts from law enforcement from the government sector, private industry, international organizations and the academia who can deliberate on issues to gain in-depth solutions to latest cyber security risks, attacks, trends and strategies to be utilized.
National and International cybersecurity Campaign
Some countries around the world have created capacity building pillars that promote cybersecurity awareness, education and training. Hence, the creation of online cybersecurity awareness platforms and provision of tools to assist in capacity building efforts. Here are some of the sites below.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom’s Getsafeonline is an online campaign platform to create cybersecurity awareness initiative to individuals and organization to ensure safe practices at home and in the workplaces.
Australia
Australia created a Stay Smart Online campaign platform that provides individuals and small organizations with information on how to protect themselves from attacks and reduce the risks of threats. Also, office of the eSafety Commission website promote online safety through education, training for children, parents, and others on the various forms of cybersecurity. All threats can be reported to the office of the image-based abuse online reporting portal that works with the regulatory agencies to deal with those threats.
United States
The National cyber Security Alliance’s StaySafeOnline initiative gives information about safe practices, cybercrimes, security key online accounts and digital devices and privacy management. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) created an international cybersecurity education and awareness campaign known as STOP.THINK.CONNECT that has been adopted by businesses, National government ministries and national NGOs in Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, India, japan and so on. The campaign was to enable other countries launch similar domestic campaign to fight cybersecurity issues and threats.
South Africa
South Africa’s Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services created the CybersecurityHub to provide information and resources against cybercrime and cybersecurity.
Canada
Canada’s Get Cyber Safe provides information to individuals and businesses about risks and the ways in which to protect themselves from cybersecurity threats.
The Bottom Rule
Cybersecurity can easily be dealt with adequate inter-agency collaboration as well as intelligence sharing. Cyber space regulatory bodies, government, security firms and experts, businesses, law enforcement agencies should be transparent and come together to succeed in winning against the rising expansion of cybercrimes all over the world. Through greater cross-border collaborations and exchange of information aimed at deriving the best practices, activities of cybercriminals can be dealt with. This approach will help to create a collective shield against the regular attacks. Mutual intelligence sharing, data sharing arrangement and agreements will help all agencies involved in cyber security to take actions that will successfully combat threats on the long run.
