⚠️ Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium

Belgian Anti-Phishing Shield

The Belgian Anti-Phishing Shield (BAPS) is a Centre for Cyber Security Belgium (CCB) initiative. It warns internet users when they are browsing fraudulent or malicious websites.

When users visit these sites, BAPS redirects them to a warning page. This action is taken at the Belgian DNS level, following a thorough analysis of the site by the CCB.

Each time a user clicks on a link, a DNS request is sent to the internet service provider (ISP). Using BAPS protection, the ISP's DNS server compares the requested website against a list of malicious sites. If a match is found, the user is automatically redirected to a warning page.

Schema explaining the Belgian Anti-Phishing Shield
  1. The CCB receives information about potentially malicious sites
  2. Analysis of potentially malicious websites
  3. The list of malicious websites is transmitted to ISPs
  4. User clicks on malicious website
  5. The ISP checks if the site that is the subject of the DNS request is on the list of malicious websites
  6. Warning page
  7. The Internet user does not visit the malicious site.