The SIRIUS project, a reference for knowledge sharing on cross-border access to electronic evidence, co-implemented by Europol and Eurojust, in close partnership with the European Judicial Network, recently concluded its fifth annual conference. Among the more than 800 participants in the hybrid online/in-person conference were representatives of law enforcement and judicial authorities from over 20 countries as well as Online Service Providers (OSPs).
Over half of all criminal investigations today involve a cross-border request for electronic evidence. Due to the ongoing development of new technologies, more criminal investigations than ever are dependent on prompt, secure and legal means of sharing electronic evidence across borders. This goal is what guided this year’s SIRIUS conference.
The SIRIUS Conference Programme
The first day saw a wide-ranging dialogue with policy experts, judicial practitioners and technology companies discussing the latest developments, challenges and the future of digital evidence. The SIRIUS team provided an overview of the progress made in the last year as well as a peek into the upcoming SIRIUS EU Digital Evidence Situation Report 2022.
The second day, which was restricted to representatives of law enforcement and judicial authorities, explored the process of obtaining electronic evidence in various jurisdictions and crime areas, and delved into the rapidly developing field of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT).
This two-day event highlighted the progress that the SIRIUS project has made to date, reflected by its ever-expanding membership and the growing popularity of its key products and services.
The SIRIUS project is a central reference point in the EU for knowledge sharing on cross-border access to electronic evidence. It offers a variety of services, such as guidelines, trainings and tools, to help with accessing data held by OSPs. These services are available to law enforcement and judicial authorities via a platform and an application. To this day, SIRIUS serves a community of competent authorities from over 50 countries, representing all EU Member States and a growing number of third countries.
The SIRIUS project has received funding from the European Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy (FPI) under contribution agreement No PI/2020/417-500.
Source: Eurojust
