Egypt: Online Tools in Criminal Investigations - A Must to Combat Organized Crime and Money-Laundering

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February 2018 - Cairo, Egypt

The internet is undeniably considered an essential tool in a wide range of investigations. When used right, it can effectively contribute to the successful gathering of evidence, prosecution and presentation before the court. In recognition of this and within the framework of the cooperation between the Egyptian Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Combating Unit (EMLCU) and UNODC, a workshop took place between 11-14 February 2018 on "Open Source Internet Investigation".

The workshop aimed at providing participants from a broad background of concerned national agencies and organizations with the requisite knowledge and skills that can help them in obtaining essential information and data for their investigations directly from the internet and different social platforms by using open source tools.

The workshop was opened by Judge Ahmed Said, the chairman of the board of trustees of the EMLCU, and Ms. Cristina Albertin, UNODC Regional Representative for the Middle East and North Africa, who both emphasized the importance of open source tools in conducting internet investigation.

A broad range of concerned national organizations agencies participated in the workshop, such as the Public Prosecution, the National Security, the Administrative Control Authority, the EMLCU and the Central Bank of Egypt.

The workshop covered several important topics such as: planning an online investigation, search techniques, capture and handling internet evidence. In addition to the deep web, and cryptocurrencies and other relevant topics. The hands-on training course was designed to provide a practical understanding of conducting an online internet investigation in which the participants got the chance to apply what they learn at the same time.