Europol has published three reports analyzing the evolving trends in serious and organized crime, organized cybercrime and terrorism in the European Union (EU). Highlights from these reports are presented below.
As per Europol’s EU Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA) 2021, around 40% of the criminal networks active in the EU are involved in the trade in illegal drugs, while around 60% of them use violence as part of their criminal businesses. Moreover, serious and organized crime in Europe prominently involves the use of corruption and the abuse of legal business structures. In fact, more than 66% of criminals regularly use corruption, while over 80% of the criminal networks use legal business structures.
Cybercrime has witnessed an unprecedented increase due to COVID-19, as highlighted by Europol’s Internet Organized Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) 2021. The pandemic paved way for accelerated digitalization, which unfortunately also led to the birth and proliferation of new cyber threats. Criminals are continuously evolving ransomware affiliate programs and mobile malware to bypass cyber security measures. Moreover, online shopping has become an avenue for fraudsters. Further, VPNs, encrypted communication services and cryptocurrencies have become staple means of committing crimes on the internet.
To add to the misguided use of the internet, extremist thoughts have increasingly found a vehicle in online platforms, as per the EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) 2021. Most suspects arrested for planning right-wing terrorist or extremist attacks have links to transnational violent online communities. Moreover, right-wing extremists are increasingly using video games and gaming platforms to propagate their ideology. It is likely that travel restrictions and lockdowns promoted online consumption of terrorist and extremist content and networking. In fact, the pandemic may even have pushed vulnerable individuals towards violence.
Source: Europol’s reports on terrorism, organized crime, and organized cyber crime
