The Civil Guard’s Best Weapons for Fighting Cybercrime
Cybercrime, cyber-terrorism and hacktivism are the three major cybercrime fronts for Spain’s Guardia Civil. Commander Alberto Redondo, Head of the Cyber Criminal Intelligence Group and the recently created @Teams, took part in the SICUR 2022 Forum. He explained that they are combating it with more resources and greater effectiveness than ever.
Commander Alberto Redondo Sánchez, Head of the Criminal Cyber-intelligence Group of the Judicial Police Technical Unit, and the Civil Guard’s @Teams explained the most effective strategies for combating cybercrime at SICUR 2022 Forum. The Forum took place during the International Security Exhibition, organised by IFEMA MADRID, from 22nd to 25th February.
He said that online crime-fighting covers cybercrime, cyber-terrorism and hacktivism. “The kinds of online crime currently giving us the heaviest workload are data theft, compromised payment credentials, data trafficking, financial scams and crimes against individuals.” In cyber-terrorism, “we’re fighting against attempts to destabilise the government, attacks on critical infrastructure, economic loss and loss of life, and material damage.” And in hacktivism (the trend towards criminality aimed to publicly support a political cause), “direct action and cyber-activism.”
Integrated Response
The Guardia Civil launched its first cybercrime units in 1996. Since then, they have adapted and improved and now have an optimal response structure for each case. So, now, “we have investigation units to combat cybercrime, organised crime, and online cyber-terrorism. We also have another pillar in the security field with our own systems management and data protection. And we have a third field since we set up the cybersecurity coordination unit in 2018.”
Redondo says that the Guardia Civil has “a comprehensive response structure, which adapts its actions to suit each problem. Our Citizen Security Unit can respond with the @Teams, which provide advice about technology crime.” Also, “if the crime, cyber-attack or fraud is sufficiently serious, we refer it to other, specialist units or the central units that specialise in technology crime.”