The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Global Cyber Alliance for the sharing of information on cyber intelligence.
It said the agreement with the international non-profit organisation lays the ground for them working together to protect personal data from cyber attacks.
The ICO highlighted three main elements to the MoU, including the sharing of technical information, but not personal data, from cyber incident investigations where appropriate.
Second is the sharing of information and intelligence to enhance the ability to identify cyber threats, risks and trends. Third is for joint research to improve each organisation’s understanding of the cyber landscape, including its size, actors and their business models.
Steve Eckersley, director of investigations at the ICO, said: "With cyber attacks on the increase on a global scale, there needs to be a more collaborative approach to tackling them. We therefore look forward to expanding the range of agencies we already have arrangements with and working with the Global Cyber Alliance to share and exchange information to achieve our common goal to reduce UK cyber crime, reduce cyber risk and improve cyber security.
“The aim is to prevent these harmful attacks which impact not just the organisations they are targeted at, but the people whose personal data is compromised. We know from our trust and confidence work that cyber attacks are the highest cause for privacy concern of UK residents."
Image by Flazingo, CC BY 2.0
