Interviews

Internet crime assessment

by Mark Rowe

Cybercrime is becoming more commercialised, according to the 2014 iOCTA (Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment), published by Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3).

A service-based criminal industry is developing, in which specialists in the virtual underground economy develop products and services for use by other criminals. This ‘Crime-as-a-Service’ business model drives innovation and sophistication, and provides access to services that facilitate almost any type of cybercrime. The iOCTA report highlights that, as a consequence, entry barriers into cybercrime are being lowered, allowing those lacking technical expertise – including traditional organised crime groups – to venture into cybercrime, by purchasing the skills and tools they lack.

Cybercriminals also abuse legitimate IT services and tools such as anonymisation, encryption and virtual currencies. The report points to the abuse of Darknets used by criminals for the illicit online trade in drugs, weapons, stolen goods, stolen personal and payment card data, forged identity documents and child abuse material. This ‘hidden internet’ has become a principal driving force in the evolution of cybercrime and represents a highly complex challenge for law enforcers, the report says.

Adding to the complexity, the 2014 iOCTA emphasises that criminals mainly operate from jurisdictions outside of the European Union which, added to outdated legal tools and insufficient response capacities, allows them to operate with minimum risk.

Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol, said: “The inherently transnational nature of cybercrime, with its growing commercialisation and sophistication of attack capabilities, is the main trend identified in the iOCTA. It means that issues concerning attribution, the abuse of legitimate services, and inadequate or inconsistent legislation are among the most important challenges facing law enforcement today.”

And the EU Commissioner of Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström, said: “These days, almost anyone can become a cyber-criminal. This puts an ever increasing pressure on law enforcement authorities to keep up. We need to use our new knowledge of how organised crime operates online to launch more transnational operations. We need to ensure that investigations into payment card fraud and online child abuse don’t stop at national borders.”

The 2014 iOCTA delivers recommendations for law enforcement to address the evolving and trans-national nature of cybercrime. Proposed are awareness raising, capacity building, standardisation of practices and procedures, international and cross-border cooperation, exchange of relevant information and intelligence, development of adequate and harmonised legislation, and the dismantling and disruption of the criminal infrastructures behind illicit online services online. Visit https://www.europol.europa.eu.

Comment

Prof Alan Woodward of the University of Surrey, and co-author of the report said: “Modern cybercrime, especially organised crime is by nature transnational so it is vital that we take an international view of the threat posed by this ever-increasing form of crime. Europol Cyber Crime Centre (EC3) is able to provide a unique perspective on this threat as it has access to data from law enforcement agencies across Europe. It should be seen as a vital piece of work which should be read by all policy makers and decision makers involved in combatting cybercrime.

The report highlights that cybercrime is developing to serve a growing dark economy with “crime as a service” where organised gangs can access highly skilled people to enable them to engage law enforcement agencies in an ongoing arms race. The report also shows how legitimate technologies are being misappropriated by criminals, as well as “traditional crimes” being enhanced by using emerging technologies.

If agencies fail to mobilise to meet the threats highlighted in this report then organised cybercrime will gain the upper hand. However, if agencies work together, across borders, then we can use modern technologies to catch criminals, rather giving them a platform for ever more innovative forms of crime.”

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