INTERPOL and TNO Partnership to Combat Cybercrime

On 19 April, INTERPOL and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) have signed an agreement to further enhance and extend their collaboration in combating cybercrime. Combining INTERPOL’s reach throughout the global law enforcement community with TNO’s research and technology provides opportunities to identify practical solutions to increase cyber security.

Tackling cybercrime cannot be resolved unilaterally. As cybercriminals innovate, they do so with speed and by communicating and sharing information with each other. Public and private sectors also need to be innovative in building trusted relationships to identify ways to become more effective in combating the global threat posed by cybercrime.

Staying ahead in the fight against cybercrime

In 2015 INTERPOL’s Cyber Research Lab and TNO created a private darknet network, private cryptocurrency and simulated marketplace to recreate the virtual underground environment used by criminals. This training environment on darknet and cryptocurrencies will now be delivered globally, providing law enforcement worldwide with a deeper understanding of the evolving criminal activities on the darknet. The partnership between INTERPOL and TNO will also be extended to include additional research and innovation to move ahead in the fight against cybercrime, in addition to the secondment of a TNO expert to the IGCI.

Innovation in policing

“Innovation in policing is key and the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation provides a platform for achieving this with our member countries and partners. This new agreement with TNO is important in our continued work to ensure law enforcement have the training and resources they need to take effective action in combating cybercrime,” said Noboru Nakatani, Executive Director of the IGCI.

First scientific research institute

Mr Wim Nagtegaal, vice-admiral (ret), member of the TNO Executive Board, Chief Operating Officer: “With TNO’s approach to concept development and experimentation we contribute to the fight against cybercrime and cyberterrorism with training and tools. TNO is honored to be the first research institute to partner with INTERPOL. We are proud to see how the research contributions of Prof Pieter Hartel are currently translated to worldwide delivery. This is important from both a security perspective and also emphasizes the Netherlands’ innovation potential.”

His Excellency Jacques Werner, ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Singapore who witnessed the agreement signing ceremony said: “In our hyper-connected world, cyber security is a joint responsibility that cannot be solved by any organisation in isolation. The partnership between INTERPOL and TNO is one of the many key ingredients towards cyber security.”

Picture: Mr. Noboru Nakatani and Mr Wim Nagtegaal shaking hands, accompanied by the Dutch Ambasador H.E. Jacques Werner and TNO and INTERPOL officials