The Interpol has created two secure and flexible services to facilitate cybercrime related communication among law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders to ensure more effective and coordinated action based on timely intelligence.
“Cybercrime is one of the most prolific forms of transnational crime. Highly complex cyberthreats such as malware, Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) and ransomware bring new challenges to law enforcement -- including large volumes of data, cross-border investigations, and new areas of technical knowledge,” said the Interpol in a statement.
Given the constant evolution of the cybercrime landscape, police agencies needed to share information and knowledge with their counterparts around the world to develop a timely, intelligence-based response. Therefore, the services have been created.
One of them is the Cybercrime Knowledge Exchange workspace that handles general, non-police information and is open to all relevant users, and the other is the Cybercrime Collaborative Platform-Operation, which assists in the law enforcement operations, with access restricted to the operational stakeholders only.
“The Cybercrime Knowledge Exchange (CKE) workspace is open to law enforcement, governments, international organisations and cybersecurity industry experts to exchange non-police operational information on cybercrime. This unique workspace is a dynamic communication channel that enables users around the world to discuss the latest cybercrime trends, prevention strategies, detection technologies and investigation techniques with authorized colleagues globally,” the Interpol said.
The system is expected to “foster an international network of subject matter experts to share knowledge and experience in this field”.
Law enforcement officers and members of the Interpol National Central Bureaus (NCBs) are invited to join the Cybercrime Knowledge Exchange workspace. The CBI is the nodal agency in the Interpol for India. “The international and private entities can request to join the CKE by contacting the Interpol Cybercrime Directorate,” said the Interpol.
‘First of its kind’
Said to be the first of its kind, the Cybercrime Collaborative Platform-Operation is a centralised information database for coordination of global law enforcement operations against cybercrime. “Hosting multiple, independent workspaces, this restricted-access platform enables operational stakeholders to share intelligence in an interactive and secure environment,” it said, adding that the platform would enhance the operational efficiency and effectiveness of member countries.
According to the Interpol, the platform would enable the member countries to see the bigger picture of cyberthreats and trends and, therefore, better focus their resources and avoid duplication of effort.
The vetted platform members from the NCBs and law enforcement authorities, besides international or regional organisations and private partners that the Interpol has cooperation agreements with, would be invited to join specific workspaces, said the international body which has 194 member countries.