“The type of crime that is currently is gradually going past. Instead, cybercrime, which has long been a topical issue in many countries, has come into its own, ”said Vytautas Vaiskunas, Chief of Utena County Police Headquarters, who spoke to his colleagues from the Lithuanian and Latvian Police and Border Guard. The ombudsmen of both countries met on 28-29 March in the last thematic meeting of the project “SYNERGY FOR SECURITY”, which took place in Anikščiai, Utena district, and was dedicated to the fight against cybercrime. Twenty Lithuanian and Latvian police and border guard representatives participated in the seminar.

As Vitaut Vaiskun emphasized in his speech, the ombudsmen should be aware of the potential huge risks and global dimensions of the new type of crime and should be prepared to face them. Hackers work without borders. The borders of both countries are already strictly controlled by video cameras, but one has to go further, the next step.

Egle Ivanovaite, Head of the Incident Management Division of National Cyber Security Centre under Ministry of National Defence, presented cyber security, attack directions, types of attackers and common practical tips on how to use cyber crime research.  Vitautas Tuinila, Chief of Unit Cybercrime Board of the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, highlighted the tendencies of cybercrime and presented examples of successful detection of cybercrime in Lithuania. The representatives of the Crime investigation Division of Utena County Police Headquarters also shared their experiences and problems with cybercrime.

On March 29, the participants of the seminar visited the base of Lithuanian Police Anti-terrorist Operations Unit ARAS near Vilnius. Viktors Grabauskas, Head of Lithuanian Police Anti-terrorist Operations Unit ARAS, reported about threats of terrorism and other risks to national security.

The subject of the seminar undoubtedly refers to the work of the police and border guards today, but it is also complicated because this area is constantly and rapidly changing, so it requires special knowledge and technical solutions. The ombudsmen should not only have a high level of competence, but also personal qualities and a desire to continually improve their knowledge, develop their abilities and learn.

 

This publication has been prepared with financial support from the European Union. The content of the publication is entirely the responsibility of the State Police of the Republic of Latvia, and   does not constitute an official position of the European Union.

INTERREG V-A Latvia-Lithuania Programme project LLI-082 „SYNERGY FOR SECURITY”

Budget: 580 236,21 EUR – 85% ERDF funding, 15% national co-financing (incl. state co-financing – 5% in LV, 7,5% in LT)

Duration: 24 MONTHS (May 17, 2017-November 16, 2019) The project is co-financed by the Latvia-Lithuania programme. Project Lead partner is latvian State police.

Website of the 2014.-2020 INTERREG V-A Latvia-Lithuania Programme: www.latlit.eu/

Official website of the European Union: www.europa.eu