Abstract
Anonymity and encryption offered by the Internet represent huge resources for cybercriminals: ransomware and spyware are just two examples of cyber threats that in the past years caused serious damage, not only via desktop computers, but via mobile devices as well.
By its own nature, cybercrime has an outreach which goes well beyond national level. This leads to great difficulties in detecting it, and raises questions over how Law Enforcement can effectively fight it without violating any fundamental rights, including rights on data protection. Europol is the most controlled agency in the world of Law Enforcement and manages to provide high standards of internal and external accountability, as demonstrated by the supervision activity of the DPO, EDPS, and the growing control by the EU Parliament via the JPSG. Europol is a clear example that enhancing both Freedom and Security is possible in the fight against serious and organised crime.
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Notes
- 1.
See http://fortune.com/2016/07/11/data-oil-brainstorm-tech, last accessed on 20/03/2017.
- 2.
Europol’s Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment 2017, p. 30, https://www.europol.europa.eu/activities-services/main-reports/european-union-serious-and-organised-crime-threat-assessment-2017, last accessed on 21/03/17.
- 3.
Europol’s Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment 2016, p. 11, https://www.europol.europa.eu/activities-services/main-reports/internet-organised-crime-threat-assessment-iocta-2016, last accessed 20/03/2017.
- 4.
“The anonymisation techniques used in parts of the Internet, known as Darknets, allow users to communicate freely without the risk of being traced. These are perfectly legitimate tools for citizens to protect their privacy. However, the features of these privacy networks are also of primary interest to criminals that abuse such anonymity on a massive scale for illicit online trade in drugs, weapons, stolen goods, forged IDs and child sexual exploitation” Europol’s Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment 2014, p. 9, https://www.europol.europa.eu/activities-services/main-reports/internet-organised-crime-threat-assessment-iocta-2014, last accessed 20/03/2017.
- 5.
Europol’s Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment 2016, p. 7, https://www.europol.europa.eu/activities-services/main-reports/internet-organised-crime-threat-assessment-iocta-2016, last accessed 20/03/2017.
- 6.
http://preev.com/btc/eur, last accessed 20/03/2017.
- 7.
- 8.
https://www.nomoreransom.org/ransomware-qa.html, last accessed 20/03/2017.
- 9.
- 10.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/spyware, last accessed on 21/03/2017.
- 11.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-23123964, last accessed on 21/03/2017.
- 12.
- 13.
Europol’s Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment 2016, p. 8, https://www.europol.europa.eu/activities-services/main-reports/internet-organised-crime-threat-assessment-iocta-2016, last accessed on 21/03/2017.
- 14.
https://www.europol.europa.eu/events/privacy-in-digital-age-of-encryption-anonymity-online, last accessed on 21/03/2017.
- 15.
- 16.
https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-versus-the-fbi-why-the-lowest-priced-iphone-has-the-us-in-a-tizzy-faq, last accessed 20/03/2017.
- 17.
Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and replacing and repealing Council Decisions 2009/371/JHA, 2009/934/JHA, 2009/935/JHA, 2009/936/JHA and 2009/968/JHA (ER).
- 18.
See Chapter VI of the Europol Regulation.
- 19.
Article 41 ER.
- 20.
Fijnaut, quoted as per Groenleer (2009), p. 282.
- 21.
http://www.europoljsb.europa.eu/about.aspx, last accessed 21/03/2017.
- 22.
Article 43(3)(f) ER.
- 23.
https://secure.edps.europa.eu/EDPSWEB/edps/EDPS, last accessed 21/03/2017.
- 24.
Articles 51(1) and (2) ER.
- 25.
Article 51(2)(a) ER.
- 26.
Article 51(2)(b) ER.
- 27.
Article 51(3) and (4) ER.
- 28.
Article 52 ER.
References
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Holt TJ, Bossler AM, Seigfried-Spellar KC (2015) Cybercrime and digital forensics: an introduction, Routledge, p 500
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Drewer, D., Ellermann, J. (2018). The Online Environment as a Challenge for Privacy and the Suppression of Crime. In: Biasiotti, M., Mifsud Bonnici, J., Cannataci, J., Turchi, F. (eds) Handling and Exchanging Electronic Evidence Across Europe. Law, Governance and Technology Series, vol 39. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74872-6_8
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