Interpol develops digital crime centre in Singapore

EUR 7.6 million worth of resources to be provided.

According to the release, in a bid to strengthen the global fight against cybercrime, INTERPOL and Japan’s NEC Corporation today signed a partnership agreement which will see NEC provide the world police body with vital assistance in developing core elements of the Digital Crime Centre being established within the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation in Singapore.

Under the three-year agreement signed between INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble and NEC President Nobuhiro Endo, as part of a consortium including Japan’s Cyber Defense Institute Inc., LAC Co., Ltd. and Fourteenforty Research Institute Inc., NEC Corporation will provide technical and human resources worth some EUR 7.6 million to establish a Digital Forensic Lab and Cyber-Fusion Centre within INTERPOL’s Digital Crime Centre.

Providing national authorities operational support against digital crime, the Centre will be the driving force of the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation which will open in Singapore in 2014.

“In recent years, the threat of cyber-attacks that target personal information as well as sensitive corporate and government information has become a major problem throughout the world,” said Nobuhiro Endo, President, NEC Corporation. “NEC’s leading public safety, cloud and M2M solutions, in partnership with INTERPOL’s police network, the largest in the world, are sure to play a major role in strengthening security on a global scale.”

INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said that transnational crime could not be fought in isolation, and that building strong partnerships with corporations such as NEC was essential to drawing on private sector expertise and support to fight cybercrime which is complex and ever changing.

“Fighting cybercrime requires that law enforcement at the national and international level work with the private sector and forward-thinking technological leaders such as Japan’s NEC in order to keep pace with today's cybercriminals,” said Secretary General Noble.
“This agreement recognizes that both INTERPOL and NEC can draw on one another's strengths to meet the digital crime challenges of today and tomorrow through global platforms such as INTERPOL’s Global Complex for Innovation,” added the Head of INTERPOL.

The Digital Forensic Lab will focus on identifying and test-bedding digital forensic technology and methodologies to help investigators better coordinate and conduct digital crime investigations. Its activities will include trend analysis, testing of forensic tools, development of best practices, and capacity building and training.

The Cyber-Fusion Centre will provide a platform for law enforcement to collaborate with the Internet security industry to effectively combat digital crime. Supported by law enforcement, industry and academia, it will turn intelligence-led analysis into solid, intelligence-driven identification of criminals and operational action.

It will also provide expertise to national cybercrime units during enquiries, coordinate cross-border investigations and deploy investigative support teams to assist national law enforcement agencies during investigations following a serious cybercrime incident.

The state-of-the-art INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation will equip the world’s police with the tools and knowledge to better tackle the crime threats of the 21st century, including cybercrime. As a research and development facility for the identification of crimes and criminals, it will provide innovative training and operational support for law enforcement across the globe.