02 May 2023 08:10

Belgium announces the end of phishing

Today, the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB) and the Cyber Security Coalition are launching the Stay safe online initiative, a series of simple and accessible online training courses on cyber security. In the first part, "Look where you're going!”, people will learn to identify fake messages that they receive in their inboxes and on their mobile phones. In order to reach as many people as possible, the banking sector will also share this series en masse. If everyone learns to recognize fraudulent messages, Belgium can really announce the end of phishing.

Theft of bank codes, passwords or confidential information is a scourge that affects everyone. Over the years, it has even become a real social problem. Although more and more Belgians know that they have to be careful when they receive a message with a link (in 2022, 6 million fraudulent messages were reported to suspicious@safeonweb.be), some people still fall into the trap of fraudsters.

We are all responsible for our online safety, but that doesn't mean everyone knows how to protect themselves. With Stay safe online, we want to give all Belgians the tools to protect themselves against fraudsters and cybercriminals. Look where you're going, the first part of the series, helps people distinguish between a legitimate and a fraudulent message. It's just like when you're standing on a platform. Before you get on the train, you should check the destination. By looking where the train is going, you can avoid unpleasant surprises.

Miguel De Bruycker

Director-General

Although phishing affects everyone in their private lives, it is also one of the biggest risks for Belgian companies.

More than 90% of attacks on companies in Belgium start with a phishing email. Look where you’re going can also be used by professional organizations to make their employees aware of what their main cybersecurity risk is, which is phishing.

Jan De Blauwe

Chair of the Cyber Security Coalition

Look where you’re going is the first part of the series Stay safe online. The following parts are about online scams, protecting online accounts, protecting online data, and more.

The series is available on www.safeonweb.be from today.

Go to Stay safe online

About the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium

The Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB) is the national authority for cyber security in Belgium. The CCB supervises, coordinates and monitors the application of the Belgian cyber security strategy. Through optimal information exchange, companies, the government, providers of essential services and the general public can protect themselves appropriately. www.ccb.belgium.be

About the Cyber Security Coalition

The Cyber Security Coalition's mission is to make Belgian cyber security more resilient by building a strong cyber security ecosystem at the national level. This involves bringing together the skills and expertise of academia, businesses and public authorities in a trust-based platform that focuses on promoting information exchange, operational cooperation, formulating recommendations for more efficient policies and guidelines, and conducting joint awareness-raising campaigns for organizations and the general public. More than 1,200 representatives of our 160 member organizations participate in our activities and thus contribute to our mission.