Belgium’s Ministry of Economy has partnered with the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB) to develop a faster response system against untrustworthy websites.
This new method has already been applied to 30 websites, allowing nearly 25,000 people to be warned in time, according to statements by the CCB and the Ministry of Economy on Tuesday.
“With this approach, we can now act quickly in severe cases where victims continue to emerge,” explained Etienne Mignolet, spokesperson for the Ministry of Economy. Visitors to fraudulent websites are redirected to a warning page hosted by the Ministry of Economy and Safeonweb. While investigations continue, the websites remain inaccessible to prevent further harm, though they are not immediately shut down.
In addition to redirecting traffic, the Ministry of Economy targets the companies behind such websites through public communications.
Should violations persist, the names of the suspect websites and companies are published on the Ministry of Economy website. Details of the offences, underlying practices, and tools used to commit these violations may also be shared. Information is further disseminated via the Facebook page “Stop Arnaque,” providing warnings to potential victims and increasing pressure on companies to comply with regulations.
When a company demonstrates that its website complies with regulations and has ceased harmful practices, its name is removed from all communications. If the website had been blocked, it is restored to accessibility for customers.
