Representatives of most of the founding 14 cyber security ecosystems have signed a document of intent, at the CyberSec European Cybersecurity Forum in Krakow, to launch a global organisation.
The Global Ecosystem of Ecosystems Platform in Innovation and Cybersecurity (Global Epic) will see the founding global ecosystems co-creating and adopting world-changing solutions to high-impact cyber security challenges.
Combining their knowledge, experience and expertise, together they will develop innovative solutions, drive knowledge sharing, perform trend analyses, and research, influence and set standards on a global level.
The founding ecosystems involved come from 10 countries spanning three continents, reflecting the truly global nature of the platform. Global Epic will focus its efforts on 10 value-generating initiatives, co-creating globally and benefiting locally.
The Global Epic founders say the fact that hardly a day goes by without news of yet another harmful attack suggests that current approaches to cyber security are failing.
Consequently, they believe new approaches need development to achieve the global and local benefits offered by cyber and cyber-enabled technologies.
As statistics suggest 30,000 attacks may have been thwarted by a cyber threat data-sharing scheme, operators NCA and Cert-UK call for more to get involved.
Sharing information in the face of threats such as WannaCry is crucial for organisations to improve their cyber security capability, according to Neustar, which is making it easier to do.
Good information security leadership demands focus on shared knowledge.
Around the world,ecosystems that bring together academia, industry and government operate to respond to cyber security threats and enable economic development opportunities.
The 14 founding ecosystems have largely developed independently, driven by local and national objectives. The leaders of these ecosystems have become aware that the challenges of cyber security require global paradigm-shifting platforms and co-operation that reflect regional and local imperatives.
Global and local security perspective
Underpinning this perspective is a conscious attempt to “glocalise” – orlocalise the global and globalise the local. The founders see Global Epic as a way of scaling capabilities locally from global input to enable cyber defenders to adapt as quickly as attackers.
Izabela Albrycht, chairperson of the Kosciuszko Institute and chair of the CyberSec organising committee, said: “Building a global knowledge-sharing community with cross-sectoral stakeholders is a must, in the face of rapidly expanding cyber threats.
“Building a global knowledge-sharing community with cross-sectoral stakeholders is a must, in the face of rapidly expanding cyber threats”
Izabela Albrycht, Kosciuszko Institute
“Today, here in Krakow, we are laying the foundations of the platform which, as we hope, will bring innovators to the forefront of the fight against emerging cyber challenges.”
Godfrey Gaston, director of the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), said: “The formal launch of Global Epic represents an escalation of global cyber security innovation ecosystem collaboration to tackle head-on the challenges citizens, businesses and governments face in supporting the shift to an interconnected digital economy.
“The continued cyber attacks show there are problems we are not solving, but ecosystems are part of the answer because we all have different areas of specialist knowledge, and if we work together we can make a real difference. It is a win/win for organisations and regions involved, and we at CSIT are proud to be a founding keystone organisation.”
From knowledge sharing to security standards
Global Epic has set a target of 50 cyber security ecosystem members by October 2020 and has defined 10 key areas of activity. These are:
Networking – Each ecosystem will provide resources and processes, including connectivity with expert advisors, shared operational tools and facilities, and sharing of knowledge and experience.
Projects – Enable community-generated solutions to domain-specific challenges, such as the internet of things (IoT), health systems and financial systems.
Talent – Create development programmesto enhance skillsets and knowledge of individuals.
Exchange– Enable matchmaking between otherwise disparate ecosystem entities, such as connecting an enterprise in one ecosystem with a specific mentor in another ecosystem.
Evaluation– Contribute to a structured discussion on how to evaluate the resilience of system-of-systems against cyber attacks.
Content – Enable content sharing across ecosystem organisations. Examples of such content would be datasets, localised social networking feeds and journal articles.
Emerging– Enable horizon scanning, anticipation of emerging issues, trend analysis and investigate theories of new domains.
Advocacy– Use its global reach and status to advocate for, and raise awareness of, causes, policies and recommendations.
Investment– Strive to become an engine behind a global framework programme for research and innovation and play a major role in defining budget allocation and prioritisation.
Standards– Act in a synchronising role to standardise our understanding of cyber security.
The 14 founding ecosystems are: Cyberspark (Israel), Centre for Secure Information Technologies (UK), The Hague Security Delta (Netherlands), Global Cybersecurity Resource – Carleton University (Canada), University of New Brunswick (Canada), CyberTech Network (US), The Kosciuszko Institute (Poland), Politecnico di Torino (Italy), La Fundación Incyde (Spain), Cyber Wales (UK), bwtech@UMBC (US), Procomer (Costa Rica), Innovation Boulevard Surrey, BC (Canada), CSA (Singapore).
