VIENNA, 20 September 2012 - Experts from academia, the private sector and criminal justice bodies will discuss ways to fight cybercrime at the OSCE’s annual police experts meeting which started in Vienna today.

The two-day meeting, which is organized by the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department, will focus on improving prevention efforts, information exchange, investigative training and co-operation with the private sector and internet providers.

“It is not sufficient to simply provide investigators with up-to-date cybercrime training.  Criminal justice agencies must also develop effective communications across the board, while to build resilience from threats posed by cybercrime, we must include timely input from both the private sector and academic experts,” said Ambassador Eoin O’Leary, opening the meeting on behalf of Ireland’s 2012 OSCE Chairmanship.

Knut Dreyer, the Senior Police Adviser to the OSCE Secretary General, said: “The expansion of information technology has brought many benefits, but the dark side of this global expansion is that the same benefits are accorded to those with intent to commit crimes. Thus it is important to develop efficient tools to meet these emerging threats.”

The participants will learn about existing and planned networks of relevant bodies to counter cyber crime and discuss strategies to make them more effective. They will also discuss good practices, including from the private sector, in investigating cyber crime and how effective practices can be replicated.