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Fighting cybercrime between legal challenges and practical difficulties: EU and national approaches

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Abstract

As the use of the internet and other computer networks has grown exponentially in recent years, so has the opportunity for online unlawful activities. Criminals can trade and share information masking their identity, identify their victims and communicate with co-conspirators online. This article will look at the latest EU initiatives (legal instruments and policy developments) which have been launched to fight cybercrime during the past two-three years, and at the first main findings of the national reports on the seventh round of mutual evaluations carried out by the Council of the European Union. On that basis, some conclusions will be drawn.

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Notes

  1. Consolidated versions of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, OJ C 83 of 30 March 2010, pp. 1–389.

  2. Council Framework Decision 2005/222/JHA on attacks against information systems, OJ L 69 of 16 March 2005, pp. 67–71.

  3. Directive 2013/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on attacks against information systems and repealing Council Framework Decision 2005/222/JHA, OJ L 218 of 14 August 2013, pp. 8–14.

  4. European Commission [10].

  5. European Commission [11].

  6. Ibid., p. 12.

  7. Ibid., p. 19.

  8. Europol [13], p. 66.

  9. Hayes/Jeandesboz/Ragazzi/Simon/Mitsilegas [15].

  10. Council of the EU [3].

  11. UNODC [18].

  12. For the proposed order of visits to the Member States and the composition of the evaluation teams see Council of the EU [2].

  13. Directive 2013/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on attacks against information systems and repealing Council Framework Decision 2005/222/JHA, OJ L 218 of 14 August 2013, pp. 8–14.

  14. European Commission [11].

  15. Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning measures to ensure a high common level of network and information security across the Union, COM(2013) 48 final—7/2/2013—EN.

  16. Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning measures to ensure a high common level of network and information security across the Union—Examination of the final compromise text in view to agreement, Brussels, 18 December 2015, 15229/2/15 REV 2.

  17. European Commission [12].

  18. Ministers of Justice of the EU [16].

  19. Ibid., p. 2.

  20. Cabinet Office and National security and intelligence [1].

  21. Council of the European Union [4], p. 18.

  22. Ibid., p. 70.

  23. Ibid., p. 72.

  24. Ibid., p. 73.

  25. French Government [14].

  26. Council of the European Union [5], p. 28.

  27. Ibid., p. 84.

  28. Ibid., p. 96.

  29. Slovakian Government [17].

  30. Council of the European Union [6], p. 16.

  31. Ibid., p. 16.

  32. Ibid., p. 128.

  33. For more information, see: http://virtualglobaltaskforce.com/.

  34. For more information, see: http://www.interpol.int/About-INTERPOL/The-INTERPOL-Global-Complex-for-Innovation.

  35. Council of the European Union [7], p. 84.

  36. For more information, see: http://www.coe.int/en/web/cybercrime/cybercrime-office-c-proc-.

  37. Council of the European Union [8], p. 33.

  38. Directive 2006/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the retention of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks and amending Directive 2002/58/EC, OJ L 105 of 13 April 2006, p. 54.

  39. Court of Justice of the European Union [9].

  40. Ibid., p. 19.

References

  1. Cabinet Office and National security and intelligence: Policy paper on the Cyber Security Strategy, 25 November 2011, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-security-strategy

  2. Council of the EU: Seventh round of mutual evaluations—Order of visits and observers, Brussels, 25 March 2014, 7940/14

  3. Council of the EU: Seventh round of mutual evaluations—Questionnaire, Brussels, 3 February 2014, 5335/1/14 Limité

  4. Council of the European Union: Evaluation report on the seventh round of mutual evaluations “The practical implementation and operation of European policies on prevention and combating cybercrime”—Report on the United Kingdom, Brussels, 25 November 2015, 10952/2/15 REV e DCL 1

  5. Council of the European Union: Evaluation report on the seventh round of mutual evaluations “The practical implementation and operation of European policies on prevention and combating cybercrime”—Report on France, Brussels, 26 November 2015, 7588/2/15 REV e DCL 1

  6. Council of the European Union: Evaluation report on the seventh round of mutual evaluations “The practical implementation and operation of European policies on prevention and combating cybercrime”—Report on Slovakia, Brussels, 22 September 2015, 9761/1/15 REV 1 DCL 1

  7. Council of the European Union: Evaluation report on the seventh round of mutual evaluations “The practical implementation and operation of European policies on prevention and combating cybercrime”—Report on the Netherlands, Brussels, 26 June 2015, 7587/15 DCL 1

  8. Council of the European Union: Evaluation report on the seventh round of mutual evaluations “The practical implementation and operation of European policies on prevention and combating cybercrime”—Report on Romania, Brussels, 8 March 2016, 13022/15 REV 1 DCL1

  9. Court of Justice of the European Union: Press Release No 54/14: The Court of Justice declares the Data Retention Directive to be invalid, Luxembourg, 8 April 2014, available at http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2014-04/cp140054en.pdf

  10. European Commission: Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament—Tackling Crime in our Digital Age: Establishing a European Cybercrime Centre, COM(2012) 140 final, 28 March 2012; more information on the Europol/EC3 can be found at https://www.europol.europa.eu/ec3

  11. European Commission: Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions—The European Agenda on Security, Strasbourg, 28 April 2015 COM(2015) 185 final

  12. European Commission: Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions—A Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe, Brussels, 6 May 2015, COM(2015) 192 final

  13. Europol: Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) (2015), available at https://www.europol.europa.eu/content/internet-organised-crime-threat-assessment-iocta-2015

  14. French Government, Valls, M.: French national digital security strategy (2015), available at http://www.ssi.gouv.fr/uploads/2015/10/strategie_nationale_securite_numerique_en.pdf

  15. Hayes, B., Jeandesboz, J., Ragazzi, F., Simon, S., Mitsilegas, V.: Study for the LIBE Committee: The law enforcement challenges of cybercrime: are we really playing catch-up? (November 2015), available at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/536471/IPOL_STU(2015)536471_EN.pdf

  16. Ministers of Justice of the EU: Discussion Paper on tackling cybercrime, 26 January 2016, available at http://english.eu2016.nl/documents/publications/2016/01/22/cybercrime—paper-informal-meeting-ministers-of-justice-and-home-affairs

  17. Slovakian Government: National Strategy for Information Security in the Slovak Republic (2008), available at https://www.enisa.europa.eu/topics/national-cyber-security-strategies/ncss-map/Slovakia_National_Strategy_for_ISEC.pdf

  18. UNODC: Comprehensive Study on Cybercrime (2013), available at https://www.unodc.org/documents/organized-crime/UNODC_CCPCJ_EG.4_2013/CYBERCRIME_STUDY_210213.pdf

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  1. Academy of European Law (ERA), Metzer Allee 4, 54295, Trier, Germany

    Laviero Buono

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Laviero Buono is Head of Section for European Criminal Law at the Academy of European Law (ERA), Trier, Germany. All comments and views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.

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Buono, L. Fighting cybercrime between legal challenges and practical difficulties: EU and national approaches. ERA Forum 17, 343–353 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12027-016-0432-5

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