Interpol Opens Cyber-Crime Base, Partners With Kaspersky, Trend Micro

By Tom Jowitt

Interpol has forged partnership deals with two leading security vendors, as it opens up a new "nerve center" to combat the threat of cyber-crime.

The international police body said that the Interpol Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) building in Singapore will provide it with a state-of-the art facility to help lead the fight against online crime.

Nerve Center

The state-of-the-art IGCI will provide Interpol with a digital forensic laboratory "for the identification of crimes and criminals, innovative training, operational support and partnerships."

The new facility will reinforce Interpol's existing cyber-crime units at Interpol's General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon and its Regional Bureau in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

"In the history of international law enforcement, this day marks a milestone. It resonates with the collective dedication of global police cooperation in making ours a safer world," said Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble.

"Police are traditionally trained to protect innocent civilians from harm; harm which is visible, or simply physical in nature," said Noble. "The widening intersection of our real and virtual lives challenges that very tradition, and with the IGCI, Interpol now has a dedicated center to tackle cyber-crime so we can better protect citizens both on and offline."

"The creation of the IGCI would not have been possible without the overwhelming support of the Singaporean authorities, and it is with immense pride, joy and responsibility that I accept the keys to this building on behalf of all our 190-member countries," concluded Noble.

Interpol said that it is creating the "nerve center for cyber threat intelligence and coordination of operations." It said it was bringing together experts from law enforcement, industry and academia to actively identify and develop intelligence about emerging threats and criminal cyber entities.

New Partnerships

To this end, Interpol also announced that it has teamed up with Trend Micro and Kaspersky Lab to help it tackle the growing cyber-crime menace, with a three-year agreement signed at the IGCI in Singapore.

Trend will share its threat information analysis with Interpol to assist the world police body to investigate, deter and prevent cyber-crime, with Kaspersky providing its products, intelligence and ongoing support. Last month Kaspersky also partnered with city of London police to assist them in tackling cyber-crime.

"We are proud to support Interpol in their vital role combating cyber-crime across the globe," said Eva Chen, CEO of Trend Micro. "Our partnership with Interpol will provide tools, training and human resources to strengthen their team's capability to fight criminal activity around the world."

"I believe that our cooperation agreement with Interpol is an important step forward in our joint struggle against cyber-crime," said Eugene Kaspersky, chairman and CEO of Kaspersky Lab. "Digital crime is an important global threat and such a public-private partnership as ours can make a tangible difference in making the Internet safer and more secure.

Trend Micro will also assist with a training program to improve techniques and increase the capabilities of Interpol's 190-member countries in cyber-crime investigations. Likewise, Kaspersky Lab will provide threat intelligence as well as hardware and software to the IGCI's cyber-forensics laboratory.

It will also base an expert at the IGCI, and will run a series of training sessions for Interpol officers on malware analysis, digital forensics and financial threat research.