ProctorExam, European market leader in online proctoring, has been Security Verified by the ICT Institute, an independent IT audit firm. This achievement is a confirmation that ProctorExam goes beyond being just GDPR compliant. Guaranteeing data protection and security for both exam takers and organisations is a top priority. ProctorExam continuously investigates how to take the extra mile to meet that urgency. Security Verified is an open standard for information security similar to ISO 27001, with an emphasis on GDPR. Any company that handles valuable or personal data is obliged to take care of information security. Security Verified makes it easy for organisations to prove that they have taken such steps. It is a renowned and open standard for the information security of organisations, especially for innovative tech champions of today and tomorrow. The structure is similar to ISO 27001 and contains many of the control measures from ISO 27002. However, Security Verified integrated GDPR compliance even more, since these are the current legal requirements within the European Union. Continue reading…

The European Commission recently adopted the EU Action Plan: “Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil” – a key deliverable of the European Green Deal and the main topic of this year’s EU Green Week. It sets out an integrated vision for 2050: a world where pollution is reduced to levels that are no longer harmful to human health and natural ecosystems, as well as the steps to get there. The plan ties together all relevant EU policies to tackle and prevent pollution, with a special emphasis on how to use digital solutions to tackle pollution. Reviews of relevant EU legislation are foreseen to identify remaining gaps in EU legislation and where better implementation is necessary to meet these legal obligations. Continue reading…

Modern organisations now realise that cybersecurity is a crucial concern. Cyberattacks have grown in frequency and sophistication, with 3,813 data breaches reported in the first half of 2019, which was an increase of 54% over the previous year. And in light of COVID-19-related changes in workforce structure and an unplanned shift to remote work environments that might not be supported with the right infrastructure, companies became even more vulnerable to attack in 2020. While enterprises know that cybersecurity protection is essential to safeguard their companies, many envision cybersecurity protocols as a compliance-focused approach to address industry and governmental regulations, rather than looking at them from a risk analysis level. Continue reading…

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) are stepping up their cooperation to more effectively tackle criminal abuse of intellectual property rights in the field of counterfeiting and online piracy. A Service Level Agreement (SLA) was signed to boost Eurojust’s capacity and expand its expertise to support complex investigations in this field. As intellectual property (IP) crime is increasingly considered linked to organised crime and part of other serious criminal offences, it has become essential to intensify the fight against IP infringements, notably in the online environment. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the problem of counterfeiting and piracy has gained new momentum with the illegal production and distribution of fake protective equipment and face masks, tackling IP crime is key to protect consumers and preserve a healthy economy and support the recovery of legitimate businesses, notably creative and innovative ones. Continue reading…

Judicial and law enforcement authorities in Belgium, France and the Netherlands have in close cooperation enabled major interventions to block the further use of encrypted communications by large-scale organised crime groups (OCGs), with the support of Europol and Eurojust. The continuous monitoring of the illegal Sky ECC communication service tool by investigators in the three countries involved has provided invaluable insights into hundreds of millions of messages exchanged between criminals. This has resulted in the collection of crucial information on over a hundred of planned large-scale criminal operations, preventing potential life threatening situations and possible victims. Continue reading…

To better assist victims of trafficking in human beings (THB), more cross-border cooperation and investigations are necessary. Earlier involvement of Eurojust and a higher number of cases referred to the Agency will help to better coordinate investigations and get a fuller picture of internationally operating criminal networks, which exploit often young and vulnerable victims. These are the main conclusions from the Eurojust Report on Trafficking in Human Beings. The Report was adopted by the College of the Agency right before 22 February, the European Day for Victims of Crime, and was presented recently at the occasion of the meeting of the EU Victims’ Rights Platform. It comes at a crucial time as well, as the European Commission is working towards a new EU strategy on combating human trafficking. Continue reading…

by Michel Klompmaker

We recently had an opportunity to speak together with Nick Palmer who is the Head of Global Business at Group-IB. Group-IB is an international provider of solutions aimed at investigating high-tech crime, detecting and preventing cyberattacks, online fraud, and intellectual property theft. Nick Palmer was also a moderator of Group-IB’s CyberCrimeCon online event held last year in November. Our discussion covered several areas of interest relating to Group-IB’s operations, its recent opening of its European headquarters in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, how organisations in general can safeguard against cyberattacks and what the main risks for organisations are today.
Continue reading…

Law enforcement and judicial authorities worldwide have recently disrupted one of the most significant botnets of the past decade: EMOTET. Investigators have now taken control of its infrastructure in an international coordinated action. This operation is the result of a collaborative effort between authorities in the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Lithuania, Canada and Ukraine, with international activity coordinated by Europol and Eurojust. This operation was carried out in the framework of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT). Continue reading…

Mr. Agustín Carstens, General Manager of the BIS, recently gave a speech at the Deutsche Bundesbank’s internal discussion series on “Digitalisation and central banking – Is there a fundamental change under way?”. I hope you are all safe and still in good spirits despite this latest surge in Covid-19. This has been the strangest year in my memory, but rather than dwell on that, I thought I would look to the bright future on the other side of this pandemic. Specifically, I want to talk about central bankers of the future. And that means yourselves – our bright future. I hope my reflections resonate and I very much look forward to your feedback and questions afterwards. Continue reading…

by Dina-Perla Portnaar

Nancy Pelosi wouldn’t have asked the head of military to make sure that Donald Trump would not be able to launch a nuclear strike during his final days in office, if the national and international threat wouldn’t be as realistic as that. Trump remains commander-in-chief of the US armed forces. In fact, the world does not realise the severity of what happened at the Capitol and the role of Trump in these events. I may only hope that everyone who downplayed the risks of the presidency of Donald Trump will feel a lot of regret, if not now then someday. Continue reading…