In September 2022, the CEELI Institute conducted its first training on cybercrime with 29 law enforcement professionals from eight countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The participants learned tools and techniques for cybercrime investigations from experienced trainers from U.S. law enforcement (Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigations, Internal Revenue Service, and Secret Service), and Binance, TRM Labs, and The Home Depot.
"Cybercrime is the fastest growing criminal activity, and the criminals are constantly inventing new methods to carry out their criminal activity,” said Amjad Qaqish, Director of Global SAR Reporting at Binance. In his view, collaboration and continued education are key to combating cyber- and crypto-related crimes: “It is essential for law enforcement and prosecutors to constantly learn about the criminals’ modus operandi and learn the techniques to track and catch them. This course provided a solid foundation for the participants and provided them with the tools they will need to carry out these cyber and crypto investigations.”
Rita Martin from TRM Labs shared that as a former federal law enforcement agent, she knew exactly how difficult it was to conduct investigations using unfamiliar technology. “I wanted to expose the CEELI Institute students to the advantages of considering blockchain intelligence as an additional avenue of inquiry in their investigations into cybercrime." She was very pleased with the course and the exchanges she had with participants: “We shared best practices, worked through real-life case studies, and discussed common pain points as a large group of investigators, financial analysts, prosecutors, and private industry partners. It was a rich experience and I enjoyed seeing seasoned investigators grasp and practice new skills in class that will allow them to move their cases forward.”
We look forward to continuing our work on cybercrime with another training focused on cryptocurrency scheduled for February.
