UNODC/TPB organized a specialized technical workshop on the use of the Internet to investigate and prosecute terrorist cases by sharing best practices and techniques to collect information and evidence on digital communication channels from 20 to 24 March 2017 in Velletri, Italy.
The workshop was part of the Plan of Action established between UNODC and the Government of Morocco as a result of the generous funding provided by the United States of America.
The training was delivered to 14 Moroccan judges, prosecutors, heads of data analysis units and Internet investigators from the judicial police and gendarmerie by experts from the Cybercrime Investigation Department of the Special Operations Group of the Institute of Technical Investigative Techniques of the Carabinieri.
The training utilized a practical and technical approach to respond to the needs and profiles of the Moroccan delegation. Best practices and guidelines for the collection, acquisition, handling and preservation of digital evidence on a cybercrime scene were discussed at length during the workshop to strengthen technical skills and protocols to be used in terrorist cases. The training also focused also on the advanced forensic techniques and protocols for computers, mobiles, networks and electronics with practical examples. The experts provided a practical and detailed analysis of the protocols and advanced procedures to investigate digital communication channels ranging from the Open Source Intelligence to the Deep Web investigation tools.
The participants expressed their appreciation to the organizers for the event, with one delegate remarking, "This workshop has broadened our horizons and has allowed us to compare our daily practice and procedures and to reassess them in light of the practices and techniques exposed. It has also set up a platform for exchange with experts in the field". Another participant added, "As a president of chamber in charge of terrorist cases, this training was very helpful in the sense that it gave me insights on the reports of expertise I receive for the cases I examine".
Training certificates were distributed to the trainees who expressed a desire for a second phase of the training in order to deepen their knowledge and develop further training tools in the use of the Internet to investigate and prosecute terrorist cases in Morocco.