Gathering expertise to fight cybercrime
Cybercriminals operate globally, so to be effective Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) must investigate, and combat, cybercrime side by side, along with partners outside Europe. But LEAs cannot successfully address increasingly sophisticated cyberthreats without strong cooperation with industry and the research community, which is where the innovative technologies needed for cyber investigations originate. As Rashel Talukder, managing director of the Polish Platform for Homeland Security(opens in new window) and coordinator of the EU-funded CYCLOPES(opens in new window) project, explains: “Cybercrime evolves rapidly, requiring law enforcement to continuously adapt to new technologies and criminal methods.” So CYCLOPES, part of the EU’s ongoing work to develop and evaluate cybercrime responses, wanted to strengthen this ecosystem by bringing together law enforcement, research organisations, industry, policymakers and standardisation bodies to improve Europe’s capability to fight cybercrime. “Approaches across Europe differ, so there is a danger that our attempts to combat crime will be fragmented, leading to duplication of effort and missed lessons that could be learned, therefore cooperation is needed,” he adds.
Strengthening networks of expertise to thwart cybercriminals
A common problem needs a common approach, so to reach out to colleagues across borders, the CYCLOPES project first sought to establish what tools European LEAs need. “We wanted to hear directly from those on the ground, at the forefront of the work being done to address the threat,” says Talukder. To identify capability gaps, understand investigators’ operational needs, and discuss future challenges directly with practitioners, CYCLOPES organised 15 face-to-face workshops involving European LEAs. These focused on key areas of cybercrime, including the internet of things, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, child sexual exploitation and digital forensics. Based on these findings, the project created an extensive database of tools and solutions already used by LEAs across Europe, helping practitioners to discover existing capabilities and avoid duplication of effort. European LEAs have different levels of experience, expertise and technical maturity, so facilitating the exchange of knowledge between practitioners became one of the project’s greatest strengths. “It’s like a library, really,” Talukder notes. “If an authority comes across a problem, they can consult the database to see if another has already dealt with the same issue, and how.” One example of how this knowledge exchange translated into operational impact came during a CYCLOPES workshop organised in Stockholm, during which representatives of the Belgian Federal Police and TNO(opens in new window) from the Netherlands discussed approaches to proactive phishing detection, and exchanged knowledge and practical experience. The result was PhishNemo(opens in new window), which later developed into an award-winning Belgian initiative that has enabled the early blocking of around 1 600 malicious phishing websites and helped protect more than 120 000 potential victims. As Talukder says: “This demonstrates how bringing together experts from different organisations and countries can generate lasting impact beyond a project’s formal objectives.”
Networks protecting citizens from cybercrime grow from strength to strength
CYCLOPES didn’t just focus on today’s challenges. The project also examined how emerging technologies will reshape cybercrime investigations in the future. It provided annual foresight reporting to anticipate the future needs of cybercrime investigators, related to the Dark Web and Quantum Computing. During its lifetime, CYCLOPES produced more than 100 reports, and while some outputs remain confidential due to their operational nature, many are publicly available(opens in new window) on the project’s website. It was also extremely important that CYCLOPES constantly cooperated with relevant European organisations fighting cybercrime: Europol, European Commission DG HOME, EACTDA, ECTEG and EJCN. Although the project has officially ended, its impact will continue through the CYCLOPES Network(opens in new window). To ensure the long-term sustainability of the project’s results and maintain cooperation between practitioners, researchers and industry, the network will continue beyond the project’s lifetime. As Talukder remarks: “Beyond technical results, CYCLOPES demonstrated that trust, personal relationships and long-term professional networks remain fundamental for successful international cooperation against cybercrime.” The Polish Platform for Homeland Security, as the coordinator of CYCLOPES, will continue to serve as the Secretariat of the CYCLOPES Network, supporting its coordination and future development. “We intend to do all we can to ensure that, going forward, research and innovation activities respond directly to operational requirements,” Talukder explains.
