Interpol Teams up with cyber security firm to combat cyber threats

The International Police Organization more commonly known as Interpol announced on August 7th that it had signed an agreement with cyber security company Palo Alto Networks for data exchange as they look to boost ways to combat online crime. Palo Alto Networks happens to be the first cyber security company to sign a Data Exchange Agreement (DEA) with INTERPOL according to a separate press release on Monday.

Details from a press release state that this consensus focuses on tackling criminal trends in cyberspace, cyber threats and cybercrime globally. This will be through sharing threat information generated by Palo Alto Networks and its threat intelligence team, Unit 42.

Palo Alto Networks will be part of the operational briefings at INTERPOL which INTERPOL will also do same. It continued that a threat intelligence expert from Unit 42 will be assigned to collaborate with the IGCI, and this will help in providing a clearer understanding of the current landscape, which can equip law enforcement officers with important information needed to prevent cyber attacks. The deal was finalized at the Singapore based Interpol Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI).

“Tackling cybercrime is not something that law enforcement can do in isolation,” says the executive director of ICGI, Noboru Nakatani. “Cooperation with the private sector is essential if we are to effectively combat this global phenomenon. INTERPOL’s agreement with Palo Alto Networks is an important step in our ongoing efforts to ensure law enforcement worldwide has access to the information they need to combat cyber threats which are a significant issue for both the public and private sectors.”

The vice president and regional chief security officer for Asia-Pacific, Palo Alto Networks Sean Duca, added that: “Cybercrime represents a significant amount of risk for businesses and organizations today. This collaboration marks a mutual commitment to information sharing, which is necessary for preventing successful cyber attacks. Together with INTERPOL, we can continue to raise awareness and educate business leaders and reduce the collective cyber security risk over time.”

The latest State of Cyber security survey conducted by Palo Alto Networks in Asia-Pacific showed that 44% of organizations across Asia-Pacific have by this time started sharing threat information with other companies in their industry.

This agreement increases the kind of information sharing needed across industries, public and private organizations which will aid in closing the gap between network defenders and cyber adversaries and also maintain trust in our digital way of life.

Although this agreement formalizes the cooperation between Palo Alto Networks and INTERPOL, that won’t be the first time these two organizations have teamed up.

In April this year, seven private-sector companies, including Palo Alto Networks, was involved in an INTERPOL-led operation targeting cyber crime across the ASEAN region. The result of this operation was the identification of almost 9,000 command-and-control servers and also hundreds of compromised websites that included government portals. The Information gathered from the private sector and the countries that participated helped INTERPOL’s Cyber Fusion Centre to produce 23 Cyber Activity Reports.

Palo Alto Networks is a cyber security company, preventing cyber breaches for numerous organizations worldwide. Its core products are a platform that includes advanced firewalls designed to provide network security, visibility, and granular control of network activity.

The company has been in the spotlight this year and just recently, they were again recognized in the “Leaders” quadrant of the July 10, 2017 “Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls” by Gartner Inc.

According to reports, The Leaders quadrant contains vendors that build products that fulfill enterprise requirements. These requirements include a wide range of models, from support for virtualization and virtual LANs to a management and reporting capability that is designed for complex and high-volume environments, such as multi-tier administration and rule/policy minimization.

That was the sixth consecutive time Palo Alto Networks has been named a leader in the Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Firewalls1, which evaluates vendors’ ability to execute and completeness of vision.

“We’re honored to be recognized by Gartner as a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls. Our mission to protect our way of life in the digital age by preventing successful cyber attacks is enabled by our Next-Generation Security Platform, of which our firewall is a cornerstone. We believe this recognition for the sixth consecutive time validates that the advancements made to our next-generation firewall, including security consistency for public and private clouds, are addressing today’s toughest cyber security challenges.” stated the CMO of Palo Alto Networks René Bonvanie.
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