On 28 March 2023, the iPROCEEDS-2 project and the Southeast Europe Police Chiefs Association, with support from the Federal Criminal Police of Austria, set the stage for cybercrime investigators of South-East European countries to present their ransomware cases, tools and opportunities of co-operation during the "SEPCA countries in the fight against cybercrime" Conference in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Managers of Cybercrime Units and senior investigators of 8 countries in the region shared their experiences on new forms of ransomware attacks, investigating techniques and joint response mechanisms. The Council of Europe Guide for criminal investigations of ransomware attacks was shared with the participants and its practical value has been confirmed by recent case studies of the Romanian Police.
On 29 March 2023, during the Regional workshop on public-private co-operation on cybercrime and practical implementation of the Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention provisions, the new tools and mechanisms for public-private co-operation provided by the Second Additional Protocol and the main responsibilities of competent authorities were brought into light, giving the participants from 5 countries in the region the opportunity of open dialogue and practical perspective of the implementation of the new provisions into domestic legislations.
The Domestic meeting on raising awareness of existing reporting mechanisms of cybercrime, held in the afternoon of 29 March, gathered delegates of the criminal justice authorities engaged in investigating cybercrime offences and representatives of the private sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Police investigators, prosecutors and digital forensics specialists met at a round table with cybersecurity experts, officials of the financial sector, online service providers and crypto exchangers and discussed the status of public-private co-operation, various methods of response to cyber-threats and ways ahead to report online crime and share essential information. In view of the recent crime trends in the country and in the region, the participants expressed strong commitment towards improved joint actions based on partnerships and trust.
Between 30-31 March, the Domestic simulation exercise on effective sharing of data between cybersecurity and cybercrime communities focused thematically on the co-operation of law enforcement authorities with the cyber-response teams in the investigation of a ransomware attack run by a criminal organisation. Held in an active learning format, the exercise contributed to the developing of practical skills for investigation of ransomware cases, inter-agency co-operation and real time information exchange between cybercrime and cybersecurity professionals.
The iPROCEEDS-2 project will continue to support priority countries/area in enhancing international and public-private information exchange on cybercrime and electronic evidence, in developing and promoting online reporting mechanisms of cybercrime offences and in strengthening practical skills for co-operation.
iPROCEEDS-2 project webpage
Budapest Convention webpage
Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention webpage
Guide for Criminal Investigations of Ransomware Attacks (available upon request)