On the complexity of collaborative cyber crime investigations

This article considers the challenges faced by digital evidence specialists when collaborating with other specialists and agencies in other jurisdictions when investigating cyber crime. The opportunities, operational environment and modus operandi of a cyber criminal are considered, with a view to developing the skills and procedural support that investigators might usefully consider in order to respond more effectively to the investigation of cyber crimes across State boundaries. Carrying out blackmail by using a computer, for example, is a particularly popular category of computer crime which involves the coordination of law enforcement and investigatory groups on an international level. A representative case was that involving three Russian individuals who extorted up to 4 million US dollars from United Kingdom based on-line casinos and bookmakers. 1 The criminals were taken into custody in September 2004 following the successful joint efforts of the National High Tech Crime Unit in the UK, Interpol, the FBI, Russia’s Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor General’s office. The authors propose in this article that the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM), which is a useful framework for systemic thinking, can used to support the need for collaboration during the investigation process.