Posted 4 October 2019 in News, Security.
RHEA Group has joined the Cyber Security Coalition, a partnership between academia, public authorities and private sector companies in Belgium. The Coalition’s mission is to bolster the country’s cybersecurity resilience through collaboration, policy recommendations and public campaigns.

Starting this summer, RHEA Group is contributing its expertise in cybersecurity to Belgium’s national Cyber Security Coalition – a unique partnership between players from the academic world and the private sector, along with the country’s public authorities. Nearly 70 organizations are now actively represented in the Coalition, which is adopting a variety of strategies to fight cybercrime.

The Coalition is a neutral, non-profit, non-commercial association, funded by its members. It focuses on four key strategic areas: sharing experiences, knowledge and best practices; peer-to-peer collaboration; issuing recommendations for national policies and guidelines; and campaigns to raise awareness among both the public and businesses.

With the company’s in-depth knowledge of cybersecurity and internationally-recognized expertise, RHEA is a natural fit within the Coalition. We are one of the major commercial players and will be offering our expertise in areas including awareness, monitoring, incident response and security services for enterprise information security architecture.

Additionally, on the policy side, we have very detailed knowledge of the EU Cybersecurity Act and EU cybersecurity schemes and certifications, which we already apply in EU-wide projects. For example, RHEA acts as technical coordinator of the 30 members of the Horizon 2020-funded ECHO project (European network of Cybersecurity centres and competence Hub for innovation and Operations) – one of four EU pilot projects launched to strengthen the EU’s cybersecurity capacity.

A key aspect for RHEA is that a cybersecurity ecosystem, such as the one being sought for Belgium by the Coalition, requires a trust-based platform of solutions and services. It has to be possible both to share information and propose joint reactions. We have already developed and successfully implemented similar such systems within the space sector, including our work with the European Space Agency, and with NATO on the Cyber Information and Incident Coordination System (CIICS). As a result, we can help move the Coalition further towards its aim, and more quickly, in this particular field.

RHEA’s membership is being led by Clivio Tappi, Director, Business Development Cyber Security. Other subject matter experts within our cybersecurity units will also be involved in various workshops, focus groups and forums. The Coalition’s range of events can be seen on the Coalition’s online calendar.