The European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) at Europol will be the focal point in the EU's fight against cybercrime, contributing to faster reactions in the event of online crimes. It will support Member States and the European Union's institutions in building operational and analytical capacity for investigations and cooperation with international partners. EC3 officially commenced its activities on 1 January 2013 with a mandate to tackle the following areas of cybercrime: that committed by organised groups to generate large criminal profits such as online fraud; that which causes serious harm to the victim such as online child sexual exploitation; and that which affects critical infrastructure and information systems in the European Union.
Willie Sutton, a notorious American bank robber of fifty years ago, was once asked why he persisted in robbing banks. "Because that's where the money is," he is said to have replied. The theory that crime follows opportunity has become established wisdom in criminology; opportunity reduction has become one of the fundamental principles of crime prevention. "The enormous benefits of telecommunications are not without cost." It could be argued that this quotation from Crime in the Digital Age, is a dramatic understatement. Grabosky and Smith advise us that the criminal opportunities which accompany these newest technological changes include: illegal interception of telecommunications; electronic vandalism and terrorism; theft of telecommunications services; telecommunications piracy; transmission of pornographic and other offensive material; telemarketing fraud; electronic funds transfer crime; electronic money laundering; and finally, telecommunications in furtherance of other criminal conspiracies. However, although digitization has facilitated a great deal of criminal activity, the authors suggest that technology also provides the means to prevent and detect such crimes. Moreover, the varied nature of these crimes defies a single policy solution. Grabosky and Smith take us through this electronic minefield and discuss the issues facing Australia as well as the international community and law enforcement agencies.
Discover the most prevalent cyber threats against individual users of all kinds of computing devices. This book teaches you the defensive best practices and state-of-the-art tools available to you to repel each kind of threat. Personal Cybersecurity addresses the needs of individual users at work and at home. This book covers personal cybersecurity for all modes of personal computing whether on consumer-acquired or company-issued devices: desktop PCs, laptops, mobile devices, smart TVs, WiFi and Bluetooth peripherals, and IoT objects embedded with network-connected sensors. In all these modes, the frequency, intensity, and sophistication of cyberattacks that put individual users at risk are increasing in step with accelerating mutation rates of malware and cybercriminal delivery systems. Traditional anti-virus software and personal firewalls no longer suffice to guarantee personal security. Users who neglect to learn and adopt the new ways of protecting themselves in their work and private environments put themselves, their associates, and their companies at risk of inconvenience, violation, reputational damage, data corruption, data theft, system degradation, system destruction, financial harm, and criminal disaster. This book shows what actions to take to limit the harm and recover from the damage. Instead of laying down a code of "thou shalt not" rules that admit of too many exceptions and contingencies to be of much practical use, cloud expert Marvin Waschke equips you with the battlefield intelligence, strategic understanding, survival training, and proven tools you need to intelligently assess the security threats in your environment and most effectively secure yourself from attacks. Through instructive examples and scenarios, the author shows you how to adapt and apply best practices to your own particular circumstances, how to automate and routinize your personal cybersecurity, how to recognize security breaches and act swiftly to seal them, and how to recover losses and restore functionality when attacks succeed. What You'll Learn Discover how computer security works and what it can protect us from See how a typical hacker attack works Evaluate computer security threats to the individual user and corporate systems Identify the critical vulnerabilities of a computer connected to the Internet Manage your computer to reduce vulnerabilities to yourself and your employer Discover how the adoption of newer forms of biometric authentication affects you Stop your router and other online devices from being co-opted into disruptive denial of service attacks Who This Book Is For Proficient and technically knowledgeable computer users who are anxious about cybercrime and want to understand the technology behind both attack and defense but do not want to go so far as to become security experts. Some of this audience will be purely home users, but many will be executives, technical managers, developers, and members of IT departments who need to adopt personal practices for their own safety and the protection of corporate systems. Many will want to impart good cybersecurity practices to their colleagues. IT departments tasked with indoctrinating their users with good safety practices may use the book as training material.
This book presents a collection of essays on key topics and new perspectives on the EU’s Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ) and has a Foreword by the President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Prof. Dr. Koen Lenaerts. Europe’s area of freedom, security and justice is of increasing importance in contemporary EU law and legislation. It is worthy of special research attention because of its high-stakes content (particularly from an individual and a state perspective) and because its development to date has tangentially thrown up some of the most important and contentious constitutional questions in EU law. As the AFSJ becomes more and more intertwined with ‘mainstream’ EU law, this edited collection provides a timely analysis of the merger between the two. Showcasing a selection of work from key thinkers in this field, the book is organised around the major AFSJ themes of crime, security, border control, civil law cooperation and important ‘meta’ issues of governance and constitutional law. It also analyses the major constitutional and governance challenges such as variable geometry, institutional dynamics, and interface with rights around data protection/secrecy/spying. In the concluding section of the book the editors consider the extent to which the different facets of the AFSJ can be construed in a coherent and systematic manner within the EU legal system, as well as identifying potential future research agendas. The European Union as an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice will be of great interest to students and scholars of European law and politics.
From a technological standpoint, geography is largely irrelevant. Data flows through the internet without regard for political borders or territories. Services, communication, and interaction can occur online between persons who may be in different countries. Illegal activities, like hacking, cyberespionage, propagating terrorist propaganda, defamation, revenge porn, and illegal marketplaces may all be remotely targeted and accessed from various countries. As such, the internet has created an interesting and complex set of challenges for the concept of jurisdiction and conflicts of law. This title takes a comparative approach covering the EU, UK, US, Germany, and China. Broken into four parts, this book delves into the notion of jurisdiction as it relates to the internet. Part I focuses on the different meanings of the concept of jurisdiction, from a legal and historical perspective, and distinguishing between the different branches of government. It will highlight the challenges created by the internet, including social media and cloud computing. Part II analyses criminal jurisdiction, in regards to both jurisdictions in cybercrime cases and jurisdictional issues relating to criminal investigations (access to the cloud) and enforcement. Part III examines jurisdiction and applicable law in civil and commercial matters, such as e-commerce B2B and B2C contracts, torts typically occurring online, and online defamation and privacy infringement. Finally, Part IV looks at regulatory jurisdiction, examining the power of the executive (whether an arm of government or independent regulator) to apply and enforce national law. It will look at aspects like the provision of online audio-visual media services and online gambling services, both of which are heavily regulated, but which can be easily provided remotely from different jurisdictions. The book concludes by analysing how the concept of jurisdiction should be adapted to ensure the rule of law by nation states and prevent international conflicts between states. This title gives a comprehensive look at the complicated subject of internet jurisdiction, essential for all dealing with jurisdictions in the modern age.
This book provides an in-depth empirical analysis and theoretical history of the institutional development of EU police cooperation, with a focus on the creation and integration of Europol. Presenting a thoroughly comprehensive analysis, the book systematically traces integration dynamics and the evolution of EU police cooperation over a 40-year period, assessing the influence of cross-country interdependencies, politicisation and policy entrepreneurship on Member States’ behaviour and institutional choice. By combining a wealth of sources including previously unpublished sources and personal insights from key decision-makers, it explores which driving factors shape processes of differentiation and integration in this sovereignty-sensitive policy domain, and how, and attempts to explain state preferences on international police cooperation in the light of major theories of European integration. The book will be of key interest to students, scholars and practitioners working in or on the fields of police cooperation, Justice and Home Affairs policy, EU governance and security studies, both at national and European level.
Now in its second edition, Cybercrime: Key Issues and Debates provides a valuable overview of this fast-paced and growing area of law. As technology develops and internet-enabled devices become ever more prevalent, new opportunities exist for that technology to be exploited by criminals. One result of this is that cybercrime is increasingly recognised as a distinct branch of criminal law. The book offers readers a thematic and critical overview of cybercrime, introducing the key principles and clearly showing the connections between topics as well as highlighting areas subject to debate. Written with an emphasis on the law in the UK but considering in detail the Council of Europe’s important Convention on Cybercrime, this text also covers the jurisdictional aspects of cybercrime in international law. Themes discussed include crimes against computers, property, offensive content, and offences against the person, and, new to this edition, cybercrime investigation. Clear, concise and critical, this book is designed for students studying cybercrime for the first time, enabling them to get to grips with an area of rapid change.
The third edition of this book presents the history of computer crime and cybercrime from the very beginning with punch cards, to the latest developments - including the attacks in the context of the 2016 US Election. Today the technological development of social media, such as Google, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and more, have been so rapid and the impact on society so fast and enormous, that codes of ethics, and public sentiments of justice implemented in criminal legislations, have not kept pace. Conducts in social media need a better protection by criminal laws. The United Nations Declarations and principles for the protection of individual and human rights are fundamental rights also in Cyberspace. The same rights that people have offline must also be protected online. Cyber attacks against critical information infrastructures of sovereign States, public institutions, private industry and individuals, must necessitate a response for global solutions. In conducting investigation and prosecution of cybercrime countries should understand that international coordination and cooperation are necessary in prosecuting cross-border cybercrime. It is critical that the police work closely with government and other elements of the criminal justice system, Interpol, Europol and other international organizations.
Since their creation, the European Union and the Council of Europe have worked to harmonise the justice systems of their member states. This project has been met with a series of challenges. European Criminal Law offers a compelling insight into the development and functions of European criminal law. It tracks the historical development of European criminal law, offering a detailed critical analysis of the criminal justice systems responsible for its implementation. While the rapid expansion and transnationalisation of criminal law is a necessary response to the growing numbers of free movement of persons and goods, it has serious implications for the rights of European citizens and needs to be balanced with rights protections. With its close analysis of secondary legislation and reliance on a wide variety of original sources, this book provides a thorough understanding of European Criminal Law and the institutions involved.
