European Law Enforcement and Financial Services Institutions Join Forces to Combat Cybercrime

On 16 and 17 June 2015, the 2nd conference of the EU Financial Cybercrime Coalition was hosted at Europol with the aim of further strengthening the cooperation between EU law enforcement and the financial sector. This annual conference, unique in its kind, met for the first time in 201, bringing together 40 representatives of law enforcement and leading financial institutions.

This year, approximately 140 professionals attended, of which two thirds represented financial institutions from 24 EU Member States and 5 Non-EU Cooperation Partners.

For EC3, cooperation with the private sector has been very important from the outset. This applies in particular to cooperation with the Internet Security industry and the Financial services sector, for each of which a dedicated advisory group was set up in 2013. The Members of the Advisory Group on financial services have contributed greatly to the organisation and the success of the conference.

The presentations at the conference provided an overview of the most pertinent threats affecting banks and payment systems. Operational successes were also highlighted. New structures were shared with all participants as examples of best practice for developing a modern partnership between law enforcement and financial institutions.

The conference concluded with the remarks of Europol's Director, Rob Wainwright: "Bringing communities together to jointly tackle criminal phenomena is part of the "DNA" of Europol. In particular, cooperation between the EC3 at Europol and the private sector is the vital ingredient in a powerful response to protect against cybercrime. In this respect, this unique coalition is a key tool for the financial community, enabling common interests and experiences to be shared internally and with law enforcement to enhance the international fight against the various forms of cybercrimes threatening the financial sector".

The event resulted in several proposed initiatives aiming to increase the sharing of intelligence and further improve international law enforcement cooperation. Based on the positive feedback received, EC3 will continue to support the organisation of EUFCC conferences in the future.