Our cyber policeman – Irish IT security expert appointed special adviser to Europol

11 Oct 2013

Brian Honan, special adviser on internet security to Europol's European Cybercrime Centre

Brian Honan has been appointed as a special adviser on internet security to Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) along with other security luminaries, such as Eugene Kapersky, founder of Kapersky Labs, Raoj Samani the CTO of McAfee, and Rik Ferguson, VP of security research for Trend Micro.

Europol has established the Advisory Group on Internet Security to establish a clear overview of the needs and priorities for internet security in the context of the fight against cybercrime. 

The group is made up of 12 internet security experts drawn from various fields and backgrounds.

“Cybercrime impacts all of us, be that in our personal or our business lives,” Honan said.

“As we become more and more connected online, the range of cybercrime threats increase, too. I am looking forward to working with the other members of the advisory board to assist Europol in developing strategies to tackle this growing threat.”

In April, Honan was named Information Security Person of the Year by influential IT security publication SC Magazine.

The EC3 was opened in January of this year and it will be the focal point in the EU’s fight against online criminal activity. Its aim is to build operational and analytical capacity for investigations and co-operation with international partners in the pursuit of cybercrime.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com