Costa Rica to have new laboratories to tackle cybercrime

A new cooperation project adds to Costa Rica’s efforts to strengthen national capacities to prevent and respond to cyber-attacks. With the support of the European Union, a cyber intelligence laboratory, a forensic laboratory and a secure information exchange network for public institutions will be established. The project will be implemented by the FIIAPP and will be supported by specialists from the Spanish Cryptology Centre (CCN), with funding from the European Union.

Thanks to this cooperation, national capacity will be strengthened and cyber-attacks can be anticipated, as the cyber intelligence laboratory will monitor the dark web and the deep web and thus be able to identify potential threats proactively, allowing for a faster and more effective response.

It is also expected to facilitate the investigation of incidents by more thoroughly analysing digital evidence to determine the causes of cyber-attacks, identify those responsible and support legal action.

In addition, the project will strengthen inter-institutional cooperation through the establishment of a secure private network that will facilitate the exchange of crucial information between key agencies such as the Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications (MICITT), the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) and the Intelligence and Security Directorate (DIS).

EU Ambassador Pierre Louis Lempereur said: ‘This is a historic milestone that is part of the efforts we are leading towards a more robust cyber security worldwide. The European Union’s regulatory and cyber expertise allows us today to extend this strong support to Costa Rica and to strengthen its national cyber security strategy. The choice of Spain as a partner for this project was based on its experience in cybersecurity following the 2022 attacks and its previous collaboration with Costa Rica.

For her part, the Minister of Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications, Paula Bogantes, highlighted the benefits of this initiative: ‘We will strengthen our capacity to respond to incidents, protect sensitive information and provide greater confidence to citizens in the State’s digital services’.

On the Spanish side, the Spanish Ambassador to Costa Rica, Eva Martínez, emphasised the good role of the National Cryptologic Centre in supporting Spain after the attacks suffered in 2022 and the good performance of its professionals.

Sonsoles Mories, director of the Economic Development and Environment Area of the FIIAPP, explained that the FIIAPP bases its work on the exchange of experiences between public professionals from institutions in different countries that collaborate to improve public systems. In this case, the CCN will work together with MICITT, DIS and OIJ to strengthen cybersecurity.

Thanks to this project, Costa Rica will make progress in the fight against cybercrime, guaranteeing information security and the continuity of public services essential for the country’s development.