Adrian Johnson
TLDR:
- The Cybercrime Atlas initiative, launched at the World Economic Forum, is moving into its operational phase to disrupt cybercriminals globally.
- Key members include law enforcement agencies, private-sector security companies, financial institutions, NGOs, and academics.
WEF Effort to Disrupt Cybercrime Moves Into Operations Phase
The Cybercrime Atlas initiative, starting with proof-of-concept at the RSA Conference, is now entering its operational phase in 2024. The initiative aims to map relationships between criminal groups, infrastructure, and supply chains to dismantle the entire cybercrime ecosystem. Founding members include Banco Santander, Fortinet, Microsoft, and Paypal, with over 20 members now involved.
The investigations group meets weekly to analyze intelligence packages, profile threat actors, and identify points of disruption. According to Derek Manky from FortiGuard Labs, the goal is to seize infrastructure, make arrests, and attribute attacks to criminal gangs. The initiative also aims to lower the ROI on cybercrime.
The Cybercrime Atlas initiative lead, Sean Doyle, highlighted the goal of making life more difficult for cybercriminals through collaboration. Despite recent high-profile takedowns and attacks like the Change Healthcare ransomware incident, cybercrime remains a significant global risk.
The World Economic Forum’s emphasis on cybersecurity has grown in recent years, with efforts to combat digital crime and address the cyber skills gap. The initiative underscores the need for collaboration between organizations, governments, and international bodies to address cybersecurity challenges collectively.
