The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) are joining forces to better support UK-based organisations that fall victim to cyber attacks.
The UK data protection watchdog has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the NCA that commits both parties to taking steps to help organisations across the UK protect themselves from data-stealing cyber criminals.
The commitments featured in the MoU include a promise that the NCA will “never pass information shared with it in confidence” by an organisation with the ICO without first seeking consent to do so.
The MoU also features a data-sharing commitment from the ICO, which vowed to support the NCA’s “visibility” of UK cyber attacks by providing it with information on an “anonymised, systemic, and aggregated basis” to aid its work in protecting the public from cyber crime.
“Where ICO and NCA are both engaged on a cyber incident, [the parties] will endeavour to deconflict and minimise disruption to an organisation’s efforts to contain and mitigate harm,” the two parties said, in a statement.
“The ICO and NCA will work together to promote learning, provide consistent guidance and improve standards on cyber-related matters.”
The parties also said their collaboration will ensure that organisations are given more concise and clear instructions about who to report cyber crime incidents to, and feel “empowered” to do so at the earliest opportunity.
Stephen Bonner, deputy commissioner for regulatory supervision at the ICO, said the partnership is necessary to address the growing financial challenge that cyber crime is posing to businesses across the UK.
“Unfortunately we’ve seen cyber crime costing UK firms billions over the past years,” he said. “That’s why it’s crucial that relevant bodies work together to boost the UK’s cyber resilience. This new memorandum of understanding builds on our existing relationship with the NCA and will help improve cyber security standards across the board, while respecting each other’s remits.”
Paul Foster, deputy director of the NCA and head of the National Cyber Crime Unit, said working with the ICO will help bolster the work the NCA already does.
“The NCA leads a whole-system response to cyber crime, disrupting cyber criminals and putting them before the courts wherever possible,” he said. “Organisations who are vulnerable to imminent attack or find themselves a victim also need support and guidance, and we work closely with our partners to provide this.
“We are pleased to be making this commitment with the Information Commissioner’s Office; this agreement signifies our common goal of establishing and maintaining a secure and resilient cyber ecosystem for all,” said Foster.