Netherlands gov’t, businesses fight digital fraud with ‘Anti-Phishing Shield’

Public authorities in the Netherlands and partners from the private sector, including internet service providers (ISPs), have jointly developed and tested a system aimed at stemming the growing tide of cybercrime in the country.

A pilot of the Anti-Phishing Shield, which saw the participation of about 200,000 users, blocked more than two million attempts to visit phishing or fraudulent websites that users had been enticed into, and that could have stolen their authentication credentials, according to a recent announcement by leading Dutch telecoms and IT firm KPN, a player in the initiative.

The solution, developed under a public-private partnership arrangement, saw the active involvement of several stakeholders, including the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security, the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC), the national police, the banking and telecoms associations, as well as many ISPs, some of which joined after the pilot was launched.

Per the announcement, ISPs are allowed to connect to the platform in order to protect their customers, who are required to give their consent through an “opt-in” feature. The platform collects information from public and commercial sources every 15 minutes to identify websites used by criminals, and domains found to be malicious are placed on a “denial” blacklist. The list of malicious domains has grown to 160,000.

The introduction of the anti-phishing security wall has been hailed as timely, given the prevalence of digital fraud in the Netherlands. National statistics say it reached about 17 percent last year, affecting around 2.5 million people.

“The Anti-Phishing Shield is a necessary step in the fight against online crime. The success of this pilot shows that by working together, we can protect consumers against the dangers of phishing,” Eefje Zents, director of Digital Resilience Cooperation at the NCSC, said after the pilot.

KPN’s Chief Information Security Officer Jeffrey Leusink also commented on the pertinence of the new software, saying it aligns with the high security standards maintained at the company.

“Every single day, we work to protect consumers and entrepreneurs against digital threats. Through public-private partnerships, such as in this pilot, we combine knowledge and technology to make the Netherlands demonstrably more digitally resilient,” Leusink is quoted as saying. “We are happy to share the insights we have gained with other parties so that we can continue working together towards a safer digital Netherlands.”

Following the successful pilot, which commenced in July last year, officials say the joint efforts will continue in order to make improvements before looking at nationwide deployment. They hope to reach more internet users and have called on other interested partners to join the initiative that aligns with the digital transformation objectives of the Netherlands.

Cybercrime and fraud enabled by phishing are a major concern worldwide and is at the origin of billions of dollars in lost money. The FBI’s most recent cybercrime report highlights phishing among the topmost forms of cyber-attack, occasioning financial losses in excess of $20 billion.

Article Topics

authentication  |  cybersecurity  |  fraud prevention  |  identity theft  |  Netherlands