European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) opens on 11 January

Brussels, 10-1-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — As from 11 January the new European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) will be up and running to help protect European citizens and businesses from cyber-crime. EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström will participate in the official opening of the Centre established at the European Police Office, Europol in the Hague (the Netherlands).

“The Cybercrime Centre will give a strong boost to the EU’s capacity to fight cybercrime and defend an internet that is free, open and secure. Cybercriminals are smart and quick in using new technologies for criminal purposes; the EC3 will help us become even smarter and quicker to help prevent and fight their crimes”, said Commissioner Malmström.

“In combatting cybercrime, with its borderless nature and huge ability for the criminals to hide, we need a flexible and adequate response. The European Cybercrime Centre is designed to deliver this expertise as a fusion centre, as a centre for operational investigative and forensic support, but also through its ability to mobilise all relevant resources in EU Member States to mitigate and reduce the threat from cybercriminals wherever they operate from”, said Troels Oerting, Head of the European Cybercrime Centre

Investigations into online fraud, child abuse online and other cybercrimes regularly involve hundreds of victims at a time, and suspects in many different parts of the world. Operations of this magnitude cannot be successfully concluded by national police forces alone.

The opening of the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) marks a significant shift in how the EU has been addressing cybercrime so far. Above all, the approach of the EC3 will be more forward-thinking and inclusive. It will pool expertise and information, support criminal investigations and promote EU-wide solutions.

The EC3 will focus on illegal online activities carried out by organised crime groups, especially attacks targeting e-banking and other online financial activities, online child sexual exploitation and those crimes that affect the critical infrastructure and information systems in the EU.

The Centre will also facilitate research and development and ensure capacity building among law enforcement, judges and prosecutors and will produce threat assessments, including trend analyses, forecasts and early warnings. In order to dismantle more cybercrime networks and prosecute more suspects, the EC3 will gather and process cybercrime related data and will provide a Cybercrime Help desk for EU countries’ law enforcement units. It will offer operational support to EU countries (e.g. against intrusion, fraud, online child sexual abuse, etc.) and deliver high-level technical, analytical and forensic expertise in EU joint investigations.

According to a recent Eurobarometer, Europeans remain very concerned about cyber security. 89% of internet users avoid disclosing personal information online, and 12% have already experienced online fraud.

Around one million people worldwide fall victim to some form of cybercrime every day. Estimates indicate that victims lose around €290 billion each year worldwide as a result of cybercriminal activities (Norton, 2011).

Background

The Commission announced its intention to establish a European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) in the ‘EU Internal Security Strategy in Action‘ (IP/10/1535 and MEMO/10/598), adopted on 22 November 2010 by the Commission.

The setting up of a (EC3) European Cybercrime Centre (IP/12/317 and MEMO/12/221) is part of a series of measures that seek to protect citizens from online crimes. It complements legislative proposals such as the Directive on attacks against information systems (IP/10/1239 andMEMO/10/463) and the Directive on combating the sexual exploitation of children online and child pornography adopted in 2011 (IP/11/1255).

The official opening Ceremony of the EC3 will take place on the 11 January at the headquarters of Europol in the Hague, the Netherlands.

Registration for media

Please register for the official opening in the Hague by using the media request form https://www.europol.europa.eu/webform/media-requestgiving the names of participants, their media organisation and the type of media organisation.

Deadline for registration is 10 January 2013, 14:00.

Please bring a valid ID and a press card.

For further details on the programme, please see the Europol website https://www.europol.europa.eu/content/news/ec3-opening-european-cybercrime-centre-1933

For more information

• MEMO/13/6 and infographics
• For audiovisual media: Stockshots and interviews from EC3 are freely available for download:http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/video/player.cfm?sitelang=en&ref=I075479
• Cecilia Malmström’s website
• Follow Commissioner Malmström on Twitter
• DG Home Affairs website
• Follow DG Home Affairs on Twitter
• Europol’s EC3 website