Ministry of Home Affairs committed to Europol in strengthening international cooperation in fight against cybercrime

Members from various police departments responsible for the investigation of computer-related offences in different countries are involved in this project: the United States (FBI and Secret Service), the United Kingdom, Australia, Colombia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy and France. Besides these members, Project J-CAT will also be supported by specialists from the three analyst departments that make up the EC3: malware and hacking; payment fraud; and child sexual exploitation.

Project J-CAT is a newly created group that, in response to the millions lost through cybercrime, is of maximum strategic interest to the European Union and Spain, as well as for State law enforcement agencies. In order to ensure the project is successful, steps will be taken on those issues strategically considered a priority in the fight against cybercrime.

The project will be developed in two stages: a preparatory stage to take place in the first six months; and a second stage to definitively consolidate the group, which will begin once the first stage has ended.

Following the six-month pilot period, the project will aim to consolidate J-CAT as a platform for coordinating counter-cybercrime operations. It will comprise the nine liaison officers forming part of Europol EC3, who will work according to the priorities and guidelines of the EU Cyber-security Strategy.

The main advantage provided by Project J-CAT over other Europol task forces is that it will not only have a European perspective but will enable coordinated action against organised groups in both Europe and other countries, such as the United States, Canada, Colombia and Australia.

Similarly, the experiences and lessons learned through the development of J-CAT will enable Europol to study possible recommendations for the European Commission and propose legislative amendments aimed at speeding up investigations into cybercrime operations, which usually involve the jurisdictions of several different countries. This issue is highly important to the success of such operations, as the volatility of digital data is not always compatible with the response times provided by existing international mechanisms for police and judicial cooperation.