History
The Belgian Cyber Security Coalition was founded on 26 January 2015 as a public-private partnership by several leading Belgian companies and organisations, including Proximus, the FEB, Belnet, ULB and KU Leuven. Under the chairmanship of Christine Darville-Finet, Executive Manager of the Competence center Law & Business at the FEB, some 50 partners came together in the Coalition to share knowledge about cyber security, raise awareness among individuals and businesses, and formulate recommendations for more effective policies.
That same year, the federal government, led by Prime Minister Charles Michel, established the Centre for Cyber security Belgium (CCB). This centre launched awareness campaigns from within the government, including the annual national campaign. Together with the CCB, the Coalition immediately made a major contribution to increasing cyber security in Belgium.
Founding
First Initiatives
The first ‘experience sharing’ sessions took place, and the Cyber Security Coalition’s two first operational working groups saw the light of day: the Awareness Focus Group, working around concrete awareness campaigns, and the Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRT) Focus Group, for sharing operational information on cyber incidents and near-incidents. The Coalition also published a handy guide around incident response and prevention, in three languages.
Together with the CCB, the Cyber Security Guide (an overview of cyber security measures) was published to enable SMEs to better defend themselves and mitigate their cyber risks. A special working group was also set up following the European Parliament’s adoption of NIS Directive 2016/1148.
On 16 December 2016, Christine Darville-Finet passed the torch to Jan De Blauwe, CISO of BNP Paribas Fortis, who still holds the chair today.
The introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) triggered the creation of a new Focus Group, concentrating primarily on sharing best practices for compliance with the directive. It also looked at the impact of new technologies on data protection and the impact of new European regulations on the role of the Data Protection Officer (DPO).
For the first time, the Cyber Security Coalition co-organised the Belgian Cyber Security Convention with Brewery of Ideas, as part of European Cyber Security Month.
On 14 December, the Coalition’s general assembly approved an amendment to the articles of association, enshrining the private-law nature of the association, to ensure the Board of Directors included as many members from the private sector (4 directors) as from the public institutions and academia (2 directors each).
Belgian Cyber Security Convention
Professionalisation
Three new focus groups were established: Cloud Security, Cryptography and Enterprise Security Architecture. They provided a trusted platform where colleagues could come together to discuss best practices and generate new ideas. To manage the increasing number of working groups, the operations team was expanded, which also led to the further professionalisation of the association’s operations.
The Board approved the Belgian Anti-Phishing Shield (B.A.P.S.) project, with the goal of better protecting individuals from the ill effects of so-called phishing mails by quickly blocking suspicious websites. This initiative offered an excellent example of cooperation between the government (through the CCB), the financial and telecom sectors, and the Coalition.
As the fight against cybercrime crosses national borders, the Coalition endorsed the ‘Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace’, an international declaration for the development of common principles for cybersecurity.
The Board approved a reduced fee for SMEs and the non-profit sector. Individuals could now also become ‘associate members’ of the Cyber Security Coalition. Seven SMEs become members: the first in a segment of the community that would continue to grow rapidly.
The Awareness Focus Group launched a members-for-members training programme, teaching participants about processes for creating their own and specific cyber security awareness action plan.
The Coalition and the CCB set up the EU Cybersecurity Act Focus Group to prepare for the obligations this new regulation would bring. The Focus Group analysed the certification schemes that the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) was developing as part of a certification framework for cyber-secure products and services.
The Coalition also became a member of the European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO). Experts from the network represented the Coalition in ECSO working groups, keeping a finger on the pulse of new developments in the European Union.
Welcoming the SMEs
Accelerated Digitisation
The COVID19 pandemic reinforced the need for sharing experiences, as cyber experts faced a massive migration of organisations to digital solutions. With more than 30 virtual events organised by the Coalition, members could stay connected. A communication strategy was developed via LinkedIn to raise the Coalition’s brand awareness and engage a larger audience. The operations team was also expanded to include a cyber security expert.
The Coalition became lead sponsor of the Cyber Security Challenge Belgium, a national Capture-the-Flag competition organised by NVISO since 2015. It aims to spark students’ interest in a career in cyber security, and thus help solve the sector’s talent shortage.
The convergence between operational technology (OT)/industrial control systems (ICS) and information technology (IT) brought new security challenges. With threats in the IT domain increasingly spreading to the OT domain and widening the playing field for cyber criminals, an OT/ICS Security Focus Group was set up, at the request of members.
The Coalition organised the first election of the Cyber Security Personality of the Year. Rosanna Kurrer, co-founder of CyberWayFinder was the first winner. She received the award from chairman Jan De Blauwe, and was congratulated by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. Through the newsletter Cyber Pulse, the interactive annual report Cyber Security Gazette, videos and podcasts, members were kept informed about the Coalition’s achievements and the evolution of the association.
The Coalition entered a structural partnership with ISACA Belgium and the Solvay Brussels Schools of Economics & Management (SBS). From this emerged the annual event ‘GRC: Be Connected!’ Thanks to this partnership, policy makers, risk managers and compliance experts in our community now have access to ISACA’s impressive arsenal of methodologies, standards, guidelines, and other information resources to support their daily practice.
The Coalition supported the newly created Cyberwal, a consortium uniting all cyber security training and skills centres and cyber security researchers within the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.
Cyber Security Personality of the Year
First BE-CYBER Convention
During the pandemic, there was growing awareness of the need to strengthen hospitals’ resilience to the increasing number of cyber attacks. An initial, sector-oriented Focus Group was set up to encourage cooperation among hospitals, providing a forum for exploring collective actions such as joint affiliation to a SOC/SIEM or agreements with the insurance sector.
The first event of the Belgian Chapter of Women4Cyber took place in September. The Coalition supported the launch of this initiative aiming to bring more diversity and inclusion into the ecosystem, in order to address the growing shortage of cyber experts. The operations team included four consultants, who launched the first edition of BE-CYBER, a convention aspiring to become the signature event of the Belgian cybersecurity ecosystem.
The accelerated digitalisation of our society by the COVID19 pandemic widened the digital divide, while cybercrime continued to undermine trust in digital applications. By making cyber security more accessible and inclusive, the Coalition aimed to create a more equitable and secure digital environment for all. Several specific actions contributed to this goal:
- Joining DigitALL, the digital inclusion ecosystem launched by BNP Paribas Fortis in November 2020.
- Becoming an awareness partner of DigiSkillsBelgium, a web platform that maps initiatives and training for all Belgians who want to upskill.
- Collaborating, together with strong partners such as Mediawijs, Digital for Youth, the CCB, imec and DNS Belgium, on the EDUbox Cybersecurity: an initiative of VRT for making digital protection a ‘good habit’.
The Coalition joined the Program Committee of Cybersec Europe. The fifth edition of the ‘experience sharing’ day on Application Security, co-organised by SecAppDev, was a great success. A Focus Group was created for this topic, ensuring greater participation in this event. Sebastien Deleersnyder, the cyber security personality of 2022 and founder of OWASP Belgium, took a leading role in the Focus Group.
A new cross-sectoral working group on Identity & Access Management (IAM) was kicked off, to play an important role in improving the security and efficiency of IAM processes. Coalition members proved very interested in sharing experiences and cooperation.
For the third edition of the Cyber Security Awards, the Coalition partnered with TMAB. The number of categories was expanded: including an award for the CISO, Researcher/Teacher, and Young Professional of the Year. The four winners were honoured at the Africa Palace in Tervuren, where Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt handed the Cyber Security Personality of the Year award to Miguel De Bruycker in recognition of his pioneering work as general director of the Centre for Cyber security Belgium.
By the end of 2023, the Coalition counted 173 organisations as members. This consistent growth remains a testament to members’ commitment to the Coalition’s mission and the value they see in collective initiatives.
