Secure Information Exchange Network Application (SIENA)

In an organisation like Europol, which facilitates and relies on the exchange of information, the secure and swift transmission of sensitive and restricted data is essential.

The Secure Information Exchange Network Application (SIENA) is a state-of-the-art platform that meets the communication needs of EU law enforcement

The platform enables the swift and user-friendly exchange of operational and strategic crime-related information among:

• Europol’s liaison officers, analysts and experts
• Member States
• Third Parties with which Europol has cooperation agreements / working arrangements.

Within a year from its launch on 1 July 2009, SIENA was already adopted in the daily operations of:

• EU law-enforcement agencies
• cooperating partners such as Eurojust, Frontex, OLAF and Interpol
• cooperating states outside the EU, such as Australia, Canada, Norway, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Switzerland and the United States.

Extending access

In more recent years, SIENA has also become the default information exchange channel for specialised law-enforcement units and various initiatives, such as the asset-recovery offices (AROs), police customs cooperation centres (PCCCs), passenger-information units (PIUs), financial intelligence units (FIUs), fugitive active search teams (ENFAST), special tactics units (ATLAS), Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce units (J-CAT), Nordic LOs initiative and Lake of Constance initiative.

A specific SIENA framework has been developed to allow handling of restricted content on counter-terrorism. In response, counter terrorism units connected to the platform, thus enhancing the exchange of information and intelligence in this key area. In the beginning of 2022, 49 counter-terrorism authorities were connected to the dedicated SIENA counter-terrorism environment.

Europol’s Strategy 2020+ calls for the further roll-out and development of SIENA by advancing Europol’s information management architecture and rapidly embracing new methods and technologies as they become available.

SIENA is key to making Europol the EU information hub on crime. It brings Europol closer to the front line of law enforcement, particularly when it comes to promoting and enhancing the exchange of information on counter-terrorism.

Future plans include rolling out the system to regional initiatives while introducing new features and smart services, such as machine translations, entity extraction and SIENA for mobile devices.