OSCE and UN partners train practitioners from Central Asia on effective investigations of cybercrimes and terrorist use of Internet

A three-day online training course for over 70 practitioners from the five Central Asian states on the effective investigation of crimes committed in cyberspace and with the use of digital technologies concluded on 23 October 2020. The event was organized by the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department jointly with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism - UN Centre for Counter-Terrorism (UNCCT- UNOCT), and the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia (UNRCCA) with the support of the OSCE field operations in Central Asia.

The practitioners from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan work in investigating crimes committed in cyberspace and with the use of digital technologies, as well as requesting, processing and handling digital evidence, in their respective countries.

“Terrorist and violent extremist actors have learned how to harness new technologies to great effect and we have witnessed the expansion of their activities in cyberspace,” said Oguljeren Niyazberdiyeva, Chief of the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism. “The ongoing COVID-19 environment has exacerbated vulnerabilities and conditions conducive to terrorism as the whole world increasingly lives their lives in the virtual space generating ever increasing opportunities for terrorism-related cyber-crimes.”

Ambassador Alena Kupchyna, OSCE Co-ordinator to address Transnational Threats, said: “Issues related to improving the effectiveness of the investigation of cybercrimes and cyber-enabled terrorist offences are of increasing relevance in many countries. This emphasizes the need to develop the capacity of national criminal justice systems to investigate these types of crimes while ensuring respect for the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

Philipp Saprykin, Deputy Head of UNRCCA said: “Together with our partners, UNRCCA continues to provide capacity-building assistance to Central Asian countries in priority areas identified through our regular consultations with Member States.”

The training was conducted by representatives and experts of the OSCE, the UNCCT-UNOCT, UNRCCA, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. They familiarized participants with best international practices and case studies in cybercrime investigations, as well as countering the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes, based on respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

This training was held during the month-long global campaign to raise awareness about cybersecurity and became the first event implemented as part of the Biennial Action Plan (2019-2021) for the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the UNOCT and the OSCE signed between the former OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger and UN Under-Secretary-General and UNOCT Head Vladimir Voronkov in September 2019.