Cybercrime/online crime

FEATURE: Yesterday was the final day of the EU’s European Cybersecurity Month, a four-week long initiative of awareness-raising and learning opportunities across Europe; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the current cybersecurity landscape, the potential threats for the public and some of the probable challenges for law enforcement moving forwards.

ANALYSIS: This week’s publication of both the Crime Survey for England and Wales and the latest Police Recorded Crime (PRC) statistics offers the first comparable crime figures to before the pandemic; Meghan Elkin, joint head of crime statistics at the Office for National Statistics, explains how these latest figures can help to explain whether Covid has led to any sustained impacts on levels of crime, and how survey methods may also influence the data.

FEATURE: As the awareness-raising events and learning opportunities as part of the EU’s European Cybersecurity Month begin to draw to a close, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the latest funded research initiatives designed to promote co-operation and collaboration across the continent, in an effort to enhance cybersecurity and protect the increasing number of crucial connected digital systems and networks.

FEATURE: A new report from Europol has highlighted some of the policing and legislation challenges posed by the emergence of the metaverse, and warned that failing to ‘stay abreast’ of the new technology will leave law enforcement playing catch-up in the same way it has been forced to do with digitally enabled crime, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: With the growing threat from cybercrime, policing is looking to build ever stronger partnerships to mitigate risk and improve learning and understanding; Detective Superintendent Nick Bell, CEO of the National Cyber Resilience Centre Group (NCRCG) and National Policing Director for the Cyber Resilience Centres, reports on the work of the NCRCG and the key themes explored at its inaugural summit earlier this month.

FEATURE: The EU’s European Cybersecurity Month is now underway, with awareness-raising events and learning opportunities scheduled throughout October; in the latest in a series of articles, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the new NAViGATORs initiative, a multi-agency collaboration across a consortium of EU member states to support and enhance law enforcement’s digital forensic investigations capability.

FEATURE: The EU’s European Cybersecurity Month is now underway, with awareness-raising events and learning opportunities scheduled throughout October; in the latest in a series of articles, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the new Cyber Crime Driver project, a collaboration by European law enforcement agencies to understand the factors that determine cybercrime behaviours, especially in young people.

FEATURE: The EU’s European Cybersecurity Month is now underway, with awareness-raising events and learning opportunities scheduled throughout October; in the second in a series of articles, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the European Network of Cybersecurity Centres and Competence Hub for Innovation and Operations (ECHO), and its efforts to strengthen the EU’s cyber defences.

FEATURE: With the dramatic increase in reports of sexual violence linked to dating apps and online violent pornography in recent years, ANZPAA facilitated a project which brought together police, government and industry to share experiences about online-initiated sexual violence, as Chloe Boyd, ANZPAA’s Senior Policy and Research Officer reports.

FEATURE: The EU’s European Cybersecurity Month is now underway, with a series of awareness-raising events and learning opportunities scheduled throughout October; in the first in a series of articles, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the history of the campaign, its successes to date, and the risks and threats it is hoping to address in 2022.

ANALYSIS: The United Nations has recently held its first meetings to develop plans and parameters for a new ‘global instrument’ to tackle cybercrime; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen takes a closer look at the details behind the proposal, and some of the challenges the UN will face in establishing an effective body to target the activities of cyber criminals on the global stage.

ANALYSIS: As many as one in three people in Australia, New Zealand and the UK have experienced image-based abuse, yet fewer than half of those who witness it have intervened; research by Dr Asher Flynn of Monash University, Elena Cama of the University of New South Wales, and Dr Adrian Scott of Goldsmiths, University of London explores why people do or don’t intervene in such instances, and the vital role that bystander intervention programs could play in responding to image-based abuse.

FEATURE: The launch in March of the Police Foundation’s influential Strategic Review of Policing in England and Wales was heralded by many as an opportunity to rethink and reset some of the key policing parameters, aims and approaches; ahead of next month’s conference focusing on the Review, Canterbury Centre for Policing Research Director Dr Martin O’Neill revisits some of those recommendations, and considers a few of the important questions that will be debated over the two days.

OPINION: A recent joint speech by the heads of MI5 and the FBI highlighted the IP threat posed internationally by China; Dr Ben Stevens and Dr Gatra Priyandita of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute believe that, with Australian organisations under threat from state-sponsored IP theft, the Government’s recently elevated cybersecurity focus should be expanded to include a commission to examine the theft of Australian IP.

FEATURE: With the cyber threat growing continuously and becoming increasingly aggressive, law enforcement and public authorities will need to raise their investment and expertise in tackling cyber criminals; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports on the latest funding available from the EU to support improvements in digital investigation tools, techniques, and technologies.

ANALYSIS: A new study into the evolution of cybercrime on the dark web has highlighted an increasingly professional approach from criminals, with greater collaboration, the packaging of tools and services, and a buoyant online market; but as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports, businesses and organisations can use similar collaborative techniques to improve their own cybersecurity.

FEATURE: This week sees a unique workshop focusing on cyber policing challenges hosted by India’s National Forensic Sciences University, with input, expertise and best practice shared by the UK’s London Policing College and the Royal Thai Police Cadet Academy, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

INTERVIEW: As terrorists continue to find new and creative ways in which to use the internet to progress and promote their violent and extremist causes, cyber expert Professor Stuart Macdonald, Director of the Cyber Threats Research Centre (CYTREC) at Swansea University, spoke to Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth about ways in which how police officers can engage, support, and participate in research to investigate terrorism and the use of social media.

analysis: A new report from the Police Foundation highlights the growing tide of online child sexual abuse, with a 400% increase in victims reporting offences over the past four years; but report authors Michael Skidmore and Beth Aitkenhead believe that with a greater focus on prevention, prioritisation on serious harm and investment in people and technology, that tide can be turned around.

INTERVIEW: Ahead of next week’s London Policing College workshop on cybercrime and fraud, workshop chair Dr Stuart Hyde (the former Chief Constable of Cumbria and a cybercrime specialist) talked to Policing Insight about the need for an improved government response to the challenge, the importance of collaboration between industry and policing, and why Action Fraud is currently not fit for purpose.

OPINION: The EU’s recently agreed Digital Services Act and the UK Government’s Online Safety Bill are the latest attempts to target illegal online content, particularly on social media platforms; but Dr Greig Paul of the University of Strathclyde believes that the struggles to balance moderation with free speech, and the sheer scale of social media, means that such efforts are unlikely to succeed.

ANALYSIS: With business, security and many other aspects of everyday life increasingly reliant on software, the frequency of attacks on the software supply chain – and their potential impact – is growing; Sarah Sloan, Palo Alto Networks’ Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy for ANZ, looks at what more Australia could be doing to tackle the software security threat.

OPINION: As a global leader in online safety, Australia was the natural destination for European Commission delegates looking to learn more and share best practice around online regulation and child protection ahead of introducing new European legislation; Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, believes the visit marked a watershed moment of international collaboration in the fight against online child sexual exploitation.

FEATURE: The recently published UK Government Cyber Security Strategy highlights the need for the public sector to defend against ‘relentless’ attacks from an ‘ever-expanding array’ of adversaries, and commits the Government to local and international collaboration as well as promoting careers in public sector cyber security, as Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.