Crime in the Digital Age: Enhancing Capacities of Criminal Justice Institutions across the OSCE Area

Cybercrime is constantly increasing in scope and sophistication. The growing number of the Internet users worldwide and anonymity of the cyberspace provide more and more opportunities to exploit digital technologies for criminal ends. At the same time, digital technologies and electronic evidence play an increasingly important role in “traditional” crime as well. Strengthening capacities to address cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime is thus becoming a priority for criminal justice institutions across the OSCE area. However, investigating and prosecuting this type of crime poses significant challenges for many countries due to the lack of suitable legislative framework, sufficient technical capacities or adequate skills and knowledge on behalf of various criminal justice practitioners.

This conference aims to contribute to a discussion on how to address the growing threats posed by cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime to public safety and the rule of law. In particular, the conference will take stock of the implementation of the OSCE’s flagship two-year regional project “Capacity Building for Criminal Justice Practitioners Combating Cybercrime and Cyber-enabled Crime in South-Eastern Europe” with the purpose to identify key lessons learned, good practices and remaining gaps. It will also explore key elements of effective capacity-building assistance by multilateral organizations such as the OSCE to national criminal justice institutions in combating this threat. Finally, it will discuss priority areas for the OSCE’s future work in this thematic field in South-Eastern Europe as well as other sub-regions of the OSCE, namely Central Asia, Eastern Europe and South Caucasus. The event is organized by the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department/Strategic Police Matters Unit in close co-operation with the Slovak OSCE Chairmanship and the support of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior.