7 September 2021

UN

The UN condemns 'abhorrent' terrorist attack at Kabul airport.

The UN Security Council issued a statement condemning the attack in the strongest terms, underlying the importance of combatting terrorism in Afghanistan. 

A humanitarian catastrophe looms over Afghanistan.

On the day Afghanistan enters a new phase. UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his deep concern at the deepening humanitarian and economic crisis in the country and the threat of a total collapse in basic services. “Now more than ever”, said Mr. Guterres, “Afghan children, women and men need the support and solidarity of the international community”. 

UN experts urge Afghanistan’s new rulers to prohibit torture ‘in any circumstances’

The rapid seizure of much of the country, including the capital, by the Taliban has raised grave fears of a return to past patterns of human rights violations, and stoked desperation among many Afghans. Experts serving on a UN human rights treaty body called on Thursday for the new Taliban-led authorities of Afghanistan to uphold “the international obligations of the State”, particularly in complying with all provisions of the Convention against Torture, outlawing the practice “in any circumstances”. 

More children than ever before live as migrants or refugees, outside their birth countries – UNICEF

More girls and boys than ever are on the move, with 35.5 million having lived outside their country of birth in 2020 and an additional 23.3 million displaced internally, according to the new Uncertain Pathways report by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) published on Friday.

Rising COVID-19 cases in Europe and Central Asia: Delta and vaccine scepticism

The epidemiological picture in the WHO European Region, comprising 53 countries, is mixed. 64 million cases and 1.3 million deaths have been confirmed. Thirty-three Member States report a greater than 10% increase in 14-day case incidence. A particular steep increase in cases is seen in the Balkans, the Caucasus and the central Asian republics.  

 

INTERPOL

On 7 September 1923, the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC) was established at the 2nd Criminal Pollee Congress (Vienna, Austria) - INTERPOL 

INTERPOL is the law enforcement partner of the Global Coalition to Defeat *Daesh/ISIS, which unites 83 members. Since the creation of the Coalition in 2014, information on ISIS affiliates shared via INTERPOL has grown by 50 times. 

LYON, France: Accompanying a joint statement issued by the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS today, INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock condemned the recent attack in Kabul, Afghanistan and reaffirmed INTERPOL’s commitment to combating the terrorist group.

The INTERPOL Chief said: “Attacks targeting defenseless civilians and those dedicated to helping them underline more than ever our continued imperative to combat ISIS.”

The full text of the Secretary General’s video follows below:

INTERPOL stands with other members of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS in condemning the appalling terrorist attacks that occurred in Kabul on August 26 which claimed so many lives.

Law enforcement plays a critical role in preventing terrorist attacks and bringing perpetrators to justice. INTERPOL has worked with law enforcement in Afghanistan to counter terrorist groups such as ISIS as well as on other crime areas such as drug trafficking.

INTERPOL continues to dedicate resources to monitoring the situation on the ground, and is working with global law enforcement and our member countries in the region.

We will continue to combat ISIS and other terrorist groups alongside our partners. We are stronger than those who sow pain and division and will continue to fight and defeat them, together.

*Organisation banned in the Russian Federation. 

The fight against cybercrime is one of INTERPOL’s top priorities

On-the-ground support against cybercrime

In close cooperation with member countries, the private sector and national Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs), we help coordinate transnational cybercrime investigations and operations worldwide.

Cryptojacking

After detecting a global cryptojacking campaign exploiting a vulnerability in MikroTik routers, INTERPOL coordinated Operation Goldfish Alpha in Southeast Asia, where more than 20,000 hacked routers were initially identified. Cybercrime investigators and experts from police and national Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) in the region worked together to locate the infected routers, alert the victims and patch the devices so they were no longer under the control of the cybercriminals, reducing the number of infections by 78 per cent.

Compromised websites

Data provided by a private cybersecurity partner identified a strain of malware infecting e-commerce websites to steal payment card details and personal data. Using this data, under Operation Night Fury INTERPOL issued Cyber Activity Reports to the affected countries, highlighting the threat to support their national investigations. As a result, three cybercriminals were arrested in Indonesia with INTERPOL assistance.

Cyber surges

INTERPOL has led several operations across different regions targeting organized cybercrime activity. These ‘cyber surges’ brought together investigators to act on threat information developed with private sector partners.

ASEAN –

  • ASEAN – The ASEAN operation combined the expertise of police and private sector to identify Command and Control servers spreading various types of malware, leading to the discovery of nearly 270 compromised websites, including government portals. A number of phishing website operators were also identified, including one with links to Nigeria. One criminal based in Indonesia selling phishing kits via the Darknet had posted YouTube videos showing customers how to use the illicit software.
  • AMERICAS – Participating countries carried out one-the-ground action against cybercriminal infrastructures in the region based on intelligence provided by INTERPOL. Investigations led to the identification of 26 affected government websites, six hacker groups and several individual hackers, and information on nearly 40 phishing and malware distribution cases concerning 3,700 active cyberthreats.

 

Europol

Europol (2021) has published the third edition of Europol’s annual report on Online Jihadist Propaganda providing a comprehensive analysis of the major trends and developments in online propaganda of the most prominent jihadist organisations for the year 2020. 

Focusing on the *Islamic State and *al-Qaeda as well as their offshoots, the report addresses the trajectories of these groups, and how they have responded to shifting dynamics and attempted to overcome setbacks.  

Prepared by the European Counter Terrorism Centre’s European Union Internet Referral Unit (EU IRU), this threat assessment is based on primary sources, including the groups’ publications, videos and audio speeches, which have been collected by the EU IRU in 2020.

*Organisation banned in the Russian Federation. 

CAPTURE21: Innovating back to normal 

Europol invites professional and amateur photographers working with law enforcement authorities to show the evolving and increasingly innovative nature of their day-to-day work while designing the new normality.

Closing date: 30.9.2021