 | |
| Formation | 11 January 2013 (commenced) |
|---|---|
| Purpose | law enforcement |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | NL52°05′34″N4°16′46″E / 52.0928085°N 4.279317°E /52.0928085; 4.279317 |
Region | Europe |
Head | Steven Wilson[1] |
Parent organisation | Europol |
| Website | www |
TheEuropean Cybercrime Centre (EC3 orEC³) is the body of thePolice Office (Europol) of theEuropean Union (EU), headquartered inThe Hague, that coordinates cross-border law enforcement activities againstcomputer crime and acts as a centre of technical expertise on the matter.[2][3]
When officially launched on 11 January 2013, the European Cybercrime Centre was not expected to be fully operational until 2015.[4]It began with a staff of 30, with plans to expand to 40 by the end of 2013.[5]It began operations with a budget of about 3.6 million euros.[6]
The head of EC3 reports directly to the head of Europol.[7]The first person to head the department was the former head of Danish domestic intelligence,Troels Oerting [de],[2][7] who left Europol in January 2015 to becomeBarclays' Chief Intelligence Security Officer.[8]
EC3 was tasked with assisting member states in their efforts to dismantle and disrupt cybercrime networks and developing tools and providing training.[9]
EC3 works with theEuropean Union Intelligence and Situation Centre (INTCEN), theUnited Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDCP), theWorld Customs Organization (WCO), theEuropean Border and Coast Guard Agency (EBCG, also known as Frontex), and theEuropean Anti-fraud Office (OLAF).[7] Press releases in 2015 also revealed that EC3 works with American security services, such as theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).[10]
There is some overlap with the responsibilities of theEuropean Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA).[7]
At a press conference on 10 February 2014, asked about massive identity theft uncovered by the GermanFederal Office for Information Security, the then head of the EC3, Troels Oerting, said that his unit was not responsible for combatting "politically motivated hacking and/or espionage against EU institutions".[11]
In February 2014, Troels Oerting reported successes that the unit had had in 2013.[11] These included catching internet extortioners, with 13 arrests.[11] They had also been involved in fightingmalware attacks on banks usingbotnets and – in cooperation withMicrosoft and experts from the GermanFederal Criminal Police Office – taking down theZeroAccess botnet.[11]In 2014, details were revealed ofOperation Onymous, which took down a number ofDarknet sites, includingPandora, Cloud 9, Hydra, Blue Sky, Topix, Flugsvamp, Cannabis Road, Black Market andSilk Road 2.0.[12]
In 2015, American media reported on a coordinated FBI operation with the assistance of EC3 to take downDark0de, the largest English -language communication and trading platform for cybercriminals.[10]
As well as the EU member states, there is cooperation with a number of other states, includingAustralia,Canada,North Macedonia,Norway,Switzerland,Monaco,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Colombia,Moldova,Russia,Turkey, theRepublic of Serbia,Montenegro,Ukraine and theUnited States.[7]