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

On 31 May and 1 June 2016, the 3rd conference of the EU Financial Cybercrime Coalition (EUFCC) was hosted at Europol with the aim of further strengthening the cooperation between EU law enforcement and the financial sector. Participation at this annual event has grown steadily in time so that by its third iteration in 2016, more than 150 professionals in total attended, of which approximately two thirds represented financial institutions from 20 EU Member States and 5 Non-EU Cooperation Partners.

For Europol's European Cybercrime Centre (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 has been established. The Members of the Advisory Group on financial services were an integral part of the organisation and the success of the EUFCC conference.

The presentations at the conference provided an overview of the most pertinent threats affecting banks and payment systems and those that might impact upon them in the future. Operational successes were also highlighted. New financial sector / law enforcement cooperation structures were shared with participants as examples of best practice for developing modern partnerships between these two sectors.

The conference concluded with the remarks of the Head of EC3, Mr Steven Wilson: "This conference is an excellent example of Law Enforcement and the Financial Industry working in tandem to tackle the cyber threat. There has been significant learning points for both sectors and joint case studies gave valuable lessons learned for all involved. This close co-operation has already led to increased arrests of those involved in significant cyber criminality and underlines that there is a consequence for those who commit these crimes".

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