The Internet Organised Crime Threat assessment (iOCTA) 2016

Each year, Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) produces the Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA), its flagship strategic report on ongoing developments and emerging threats in cybercrime — threats that impact governments, businesses and citizens in the EU.

There are three anti-cybercrime operational action plans under the European Multidisciplinary Platform against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) cycle. The IOCTA focuses on the crime areas that fall under EC3’s mandate of Europol’s EC3:

+ Cyber attacks
+ Payment fraud
+ Online child sexual exploitation

It also addresses other areas of criminality that directly impact, or operate in parallel with, the crime areas above, such as money laundering and social engineering. It draws on contributions from:

+ experts at Europol
+ law enforcement authorities both within and outside the EU
+ partners in the private sector and academia.

Typically, the IOCTA will also highlight crime enablers that straddle more than one crime area and that require concerted and coordinated international law enforcement action, such as:

+ malware
+ bulletproof hosting
+ illegal trading sites on darknets
+ money muling and laundering services
+ criminal communications online

Other topics the IOCTA may cover include:

+ big data
+ the internet of things (IOT)
+ how cybercrime is distributed
+ debates around encryption
+ legislation on cybercrime
+ cybercrime and artificial intelligence (AI).

The 2016 Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) is a law enforcement-centric threat assessment intended to inform priority setting for the EMPACT Operational Action Plans in the three sub-priority areas of cybercrime (cyber attacks, child sexual exploitation online and payment fraud). The IOCTA also seeks to inform decision-makers at strategic, policy and tactical levels on how to fight cybercrime more effectively and to better protect online society against cyber threats.

The 2016 IOCTA provides a view from the trenches, drawing primarily on the experiences of law enforcement within the EU Member States to highlight the threats visibly impacting on industry and private citizens within the EU. The IOCTA is a forward-looking assessment presenting analyses of future risks and emerging threats, providing recommendations to align and strengthen the joint efforts of EU law enforcement and its partners in preventing and fighting cybercrime.

EU Bookshop: Some Europol publications can also be downloaded from the EU Bookshop http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/europol-european-police-office-cbw0oKABstpFwAAAEjQ4cY4e5K/

Europol: Activities and Services: Main Reports: Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (iOCTA) https://www.europol.europa.eu/activities-services/main-reports/internet-organised-crime-threat-assessment#fndtn-tabs-0-bottom-1

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