Internet Luminaries Launch SIE Europe, A European-Based Data Sharing Initiative to Combat Cybercrime


KARLSRUHE, Germany, Oct. 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a significant milestone in the fight against cybercrime, SIE Europe UG today emerged from stealth mode to launch a breakthrough initiative to enable European organisations to contribute and share Internet data. This consortium advances the detection and mitigation of phishing, malware and other targeted cyberattacks against their networks.

Deutsche Telekom AG, one of the world's leading integrated telecommunications companies, and DCSO Deutsche Cyber-Sicherheitsorganisation GmbH, a leading competence center and managed security service provider for the German economy, have signed agreements with SIE Europe UG to participate in this data-sharing program.  

SIE Europe UG is cofounded by three international Internet luminaries: Dr. Paul Vixie, Chairman, Cofounder and CEO of Farsight Security, Inc., Christoph Fischer, Founder and CEO of BFK edv-consulting GmbH and Peter Kruse, Cofounder of CSIS Security Group A/S.

“We founded SIE Europe to build a European-based community of Internet defenders who want to make the Internet safer for all users. As part of this initiative, SIE Europe will provide the infrastructure to collect, aggregate and share real-time DNS data in strict compliance with the privacy laws and regulations of the European Union, including General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR),” said Dr. Paul Vixie, Chairman, Cofounder and CEO of Farsight Security, Inc.

All online transactions, good or bad, begin with the Domain Name System (DNS). By providing visibility to the IP addresses, domain names and other digital artifacts of the DNS used by threat actors, security professionals will be able to accurately identify and map criminal infrastructures in their networks and take preventive measures to protect their networks from future cybercrime activity.

“Passive DNS has been one of the most important intelligence sources in our daily work since Florian Weimer invented it in 2003. The value of a broad dragnet in the internet to monitor malicious activities and the ability to correlate with knowledge from various sources is an effective capability every IT security department should have. SIE Europe will be the key to a sharing alliance that will have a strong impact in the security arena!" said Christoph Fischer, Founder and CEO of BFK edv-consulting GmbH.

"The security community has been waiting for a cooperation and solution like this for years. The powers of passive DNS, when it comes to threat hunting, cannot be underestimated, and the more data is shared by the contributors, the more useful it becomes for the community as a whole. The foundation of SIE Europe aims for sharing and making the internet safer for the ordinary user, but it also provides a powerful tool for researchers and practitioners. I'm personally looking forward to building this sharing community and strongly believe that it will be a great united success," said Peter Kruse, Cofounder of CSIS Security Group A/S.

Join the SIE Europe UG Data Sharing Community

Participation in the SIE Europe UG data-sharing initiative is open free-of-charge to all European-based organisations, including commercial, government, law enforcement and universities. For more information on becoming a contributor, please visit https://sie-europe.net/.

About SIE Europe UG Cofounders

Dr. Paul Vixie, Chairman, Cofounder and CEO of Farsight Security, Inc.

Dr. Paul Vixie is an Internet pioneer. Currently, he is the Chairman, Cofounder and CEO of award-winning Farsight Security, Inc. He was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2014 for work related to DNS.  Dr. Vixie is a prolific author of open source Internet software including BIND, and of many Internet standards documents concerning DNS and DNSSEC. In addition, he founded the first anti-spam company (MAPS, 1996), the first non-profit Internet infrastructure software company (ISC, 1994), and the first neutral and commercial Internet exchange (PAIX, 1991). He earned his Ph.D. from Keio University for work related to DNS and DNSSEC in 2010.

Christoph Fischer, Founder and CEO of BFK edv-consulting GmbH

Since 1985, Christoph Fischer has worked in the field of IT security. In 1987 he started the MicroBIT Virus Center at the University of Karlsruhe, the first emergency response team (CERT) in Germany. In 1990, he founded BFK edv-consulting GmbH. His company is providing support in cases of computer emergency, forensic investigation and is consulting companies in topics of IT security, malware protection, network security and auditing for a sensible clientele from industry, finance and insurance as well as governmental and public organisations worldwide. Christoph Fischer was a member of the board of directors at FIRST and co-founder of the European IT-security organisations CARO and EICAR.

Peter Kruse, Cofounder of CSIS Security Group A/S

Peter Kruse co-founded the Danish IT-security company CSIS in 2003 and is currently leading the eCrime department, which provides services mainly aimed at the financial sector. His ability to combine a keen appreciation of business needs and a profound technical understanding of malware has made CSIS a valued partner of clients not only in Scandinavia but also in the rest of Europe.  Today, Peter is by far the most quoted IT-security expert in Denmark and considered among the most recognized in Europe. He has a long history of active participation in several closed and vetted top IT-security communities and has numerous international connections in the antivirus- and banking industry, law enforcement and higher education institutions.

About SIE Europe UG

Headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, SIE Europe UG enables European-based organisations to contribute and share DNS data to advance cyber-investigations and significantly reduce risk from phishing and ransomware to e-crime and nation-state attacks.  For more information, please visit https://sie-europe.net/ or contact info@sie-europe.net

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