What do the police say?
How is cyberspace changing the work of the police and how do the police train their employees in this regard?
A large proportion of traditional offences such as fraud, blackmail, pornography and defamation now take place in the digital space or leave digital traces. Our social lives are also increasingly shifting to the internet. Every police officer must therefore have the necessary skills to deal with digital traces and investigations in cyberspace. These skills are already taught during basic training and are further developed in practice. For specialists, particularly in the areas of hacking and similar offences, there are additional highly technical further training opportunities. Overall, we have been investing heavily in the recruitment of specialist staff, process optimisation and training and further education for years.
Compared to crimes in the physical world, what are the challenges for police work in cyberspace?
Cyber criminals do not require local proximity or a personal relationship with their victims. Such offences are often highly parallel, which means that an attack can affect several victims in different regions at the same time. It is therefore difficult or even impossible for the police, who operate in a localised territory, to fully capture and analyse the digital traces of an attack and ultimately establish a link to the possible perpetrators. Success can only be achieved through good and intensive cooperation at national and international level.
What strategy are the police using to combat the numerous threats from cyberspace today and tomorrow?
Cybercrime has developed with unprecedented dynamism in recent years. To be successful in the fight against cyber criminals, co-operation is essential. This starts within the police force itself. The fight against cybercrime at cantonal level (Bern Cantonal Police) is carried out in close cooperation with specialists from the fields of investigation, manhunt, forensics and prevention. Switzerland-wide coordination is handled by the Network Digital Investigation Support for Cybercrime (NEDIK). For international coordination, we work together with authorities such as Europol and Interpol. Last but not least, we must have the necessary legal instruments at our disposal. The Budapest Convention on Cybercrime provides Swiss investigators with important tools.
What should every person who moves around in cyberspace generally be aware of?
Whether you are an individual, a company or a public organisation - anyone can be affected. Prevention starts with being aware of the dangers. It is important to be cautious when using the internet, sharing information, clicking on links, downloading programmes and trusting strangers. In addition to behaviour, the protection of your own systems should also be taken into account. Cyber criminals use technical vulnerabilities to penetrate systems and access data. The focus is particularly on sensitive and personal data, which many people handle carelessly in some cases.
Information from the Bern Cantonal Police on the prevention of cybercrime:
Markus Ruchti
Head of the Digital Crime Unit, Bern Cantonal Police