OSCE regional workshop in Kazakhstan focuses on combating cybercrime

ALMATY, Kazakhstan, 11 June 2015 – A two-day regional workshop on combating cybercrime began today in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The event is co-organized for participating States in Central Asia and Afghanistan by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department’s Strategic Police Matters Unit and the OSCE Programme Office in Astana in co-ordination with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Some forty five law-enforcement officers specializing in cybercrime investigations from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are taking part in the event. Experts from Belarus, the Russian Federation, Turkey, the United States and UNODC will share their experience with the aim of building the capacities of law enforcement agencies in fighting cybercrime, including through the use of specially trained units and the cross-border exchange of information in the region.

The participants will discuss challenges in combating cybercrime, review available training opportunities and training modules, the recruitment of qualified experts, data collection, budget allocation and logistics. They will explore ways to enhance co-ordination among law-enforcement agencies, including their interaction with other governmental structures, the private sector, academia and non-governmental organizations. Additionally, they will examine specific cybercrime cases and various techniques used by investigative and forensic units.

“The OSCE Annual Police Experts Meetings devoted to ‘Fighting the Threat of Cybercrime’ in 2008 and 2012 highlighted the importance of developing specialized cybercrime units staffed with competent and trusted experts,” said Guy Vinet, Head of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department’s Strategic Police Matters Unit. “This workshop represents a stepping stone for identifying the training requirements for the further development of cybercrime law enforcement capacities in Central Asia and Afghanistan as well as to explore ways to meet these requirements.”

Colin McCullough, Political Officer at the OSCE Programme Office in Astana said: “As potential victims of cybercrime are, first and foremost, Internet users, investigators, prosecutors and judges in every country play a crucial role in the prosecution of offenders and hence should be trained at a level that introduces them to international experience and best practices.”

Arman Orazaliyev, Deputy Department Head at the Ministry of Internal Affairs said: “ Today cybercrime is a threat to the information system of any government. The fight against this crime is of a transnational nature. Therefore, organizing an effective strategy against cybercrime requires  the development of a distinct mechanism of international co-operation.”

The regional workshop is part of the OSCE’s activities in combating transnational threats, money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and preventing the abuse of the Internet for criminal purposes.