OSCE-supported regional training course on combating cybercrime starts in Serbia

BELGRADE, 1 November 2010 - Twenty police officers from South-Eastern Europe started an OSCE-supported course today in Belgrade to learn about methods to combat cybercrime. 

The three-week course syllabus includes an introduction to computers, operating systems, computer crimes, forensics and investigative resources. The students will also learn how to train their colleagues.

The course was organized by the OSCE Strategic Police Matters Unit in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Serbia's Interior Ministry, and developed by the University College Dublin's School of Computer Science and Informatics. Students who complete the course will receive academic credit from the University College Dublin

"This course helps build investigation capacity in South-Eastern Europe, as cybercrime is a growing problem that can threaten security," said Knut Dreyer, the OSCE Senior Police Adviser. "The course also aims to contribute to the establishment of specialized cybercrime police units in the participants' home countries."

Norway, the United States and Finland financed the course.

Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, and the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ambassador Dimitrios Kypreos, will speak at an event to be held Wednesday to mark the opening of the course.

Journalists are invited to the event, set to start at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, 3 November, in the Belgrade Hall at the Interior Ministry, Palace of Serbia, Bulevar Mihajla Pupina 2, Belgrade.