Cybercrime week at Europol Headquarters in The Hague

Last week, Europol hosted the global law enforcement community and cybersecurity industry at its headquarters in The Hague for its ‘Cybercrime Week,’ coinciding with the international cybersecurity awareness month. The week centred around the European Cybercrime Conference and marked the 10^th anniversary of the Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT).

European Cybercrime Conference

Held from 16 to 17 October, Europol’s European Cybercrime Conference provided a platform for discussing the latest trends and challenges in cybercrime. More than 460 participants from 82 countries attended, including law enforcement officials, cybersecurity experts, and industry representatives, all focused on bolstering Europe’s security and resilience in the face of growing cyber threats. This year’s conference featured five key thematic blocks:

• Impactful operations: Showcasing recent international law enforcement operations, this block highlighted the detection, investigation, and disruption methods employed to tackle cybercrime.
• Accessing data for early disruption: This block explored opportunities for accessing data and examined the legal, political, and technical obstacles that impact the timely detection, investigation, and disruption of cyber threats.
• Future cybercrime challenges: Focused on anticipating upcoming challenges in the cybercrime landscape, this block emphasised the need to stay ahead of evolving threats and proposed potential solutions.
• J-CAT’s 10 years of operational achievements: In celebration of the J-CAT’s 10th anniversary, this block reflected on the taskforce’s creation, key early cases, current priorities, and future direction.
• Leveraging technology for successful investigations: The final block examined how emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, can be leveraged in the fight against cybercrime.

10 years of the J-CAT: a decade of progress

A key highlight of the Cybercrime Week was the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT). Established at Europol in 2014, the J-CAT has been instrumental in fostering international cooperation on complex cybercrime cases. The taskforce enables cyber liaison officers from multiple countries to work closely with Europol’s specialists, ensuring swift and coordinated responses to cyber threats.

The J-CAT has grown into the largest global model for international law enforcement collaboration in tackling cybercrime. It now hosts 24 law enforcement agencies representing 20 countries in one place at Europol, enabling real-time information sharing and coordination between its member countries on priority cybercrime cases.

Over the past decade, the J-CAT has been instrumental in numerous high-profile operations, such as Operation Cronos, Operation EndGame, Operation PowerOFF and Operation Fifth Element. This milestone anniversary offered an opportunity to reflect on the taskforce’s achievements and chart its future and priorities.

Source: Europol