The Europol Podcast

This bonus episode of the Europol Podcast answers questions raised by our audience during the live expert session examining how CSAM offenders are using and adapting to emerging technologies. Danny van Althuis, Head of Team at the European Cybercrime Centre at Europol, goes into depth on CSAM detection and generation, the different types of offender behaviours, and the importance of law enforcemen...

Fraud schemes represent the fastest-growing area of organised crime. Online fraud schemes (OFS) networks target both individuals and organisations, operating as highly efficient and transnational industries. These networks employ a range of logistical, technical, and financial operations to perpetrate large-scale fraud. With the increasing adoption of generative AI, fraudsters can now personalise...

Ransomware continues to pose a dominant threat across the EU. Criminal actors persist in exploiting vulnerabilities in the digital supply chain and are increasingly employing social engineering techniques. Moreover, they are evolving through the use of ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) to adapt their platforms and launch new services. Ransomware is one of the key threats highlighted in our annual Int...

Offenders involved in child sexual exploitation are swiftly adapting to new technologies, broadening their criminal activities, increasing opportunities for abuse, and making the exchange of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) more efficient and lucrative. The exploitation of AI and E2EE platforms by these offenders, as well as by online extortion communities, presents serious threats to children a...

In the rapidly evolving cybercrime landscape, a wide variety of enablers facilitate illicit activities. These range from resilient dark web marketplaces, the use of cryptocurrencies as payment methods, to multi-layered infrastructures designed to avoid detection. These enablers are becoming increasingly resilient, adaptable, and sophisticated. Cybercrime enablers are one of the key threats highlig...

The DNA of organised crime is evolving, and so is Europol. In this episode, you'll find out which direction Europol is heading in and how the EU’s agency for law enforcement cooperation is staying one step ahead of criminal networks. Tune in to discover why and how the EU is doubling Europol’s resources, how Europol is expanding its global reach, and what that means for Europol’s operations and fo...

Artificial Intelligence is turbocharging organised crime, but how exactly? In this episode of The Europol Podcast, we reveal how organised crime is accelerating as it becomes increasingly efficient, as harnessing AI allows criminal networks to better target more people, faster and more accurately. You will hear from law enforcement experts across the EU, all based at Europol HQ, about the latest t...

Online fraud is increasing in scale, diversity and sophistication, at a pace we have never seen before. From investment fraud to cyberattacks, to get people’s money and data, to the laundering of this criminal money via cryptocurrencies, the entire life cycle of crime takes place online. The Internet is the criminal theatre of today, as almost all serious and organised crime has a digital footprin...

Serious and organised crime is not just a threat to public safety; it impacts the very foundations of the EU and its society. It has a double destabilising effect on the EU. It undermines the EU’s economy, rule of law and society by generating illicit proceeds, spreading violence, and normalising corruption. But the threat does not stop there: increasingly, criminal networks serve as proxies for h...

The battle against serious and organised crime is no longer fought in the streets, but in cyberspace, in artificial intelligence labs, dark-web markets, and the shadows of geopolitics. The very DNA of organised crime is changing. It is growing, evolving and becoming more dangerous. In this episode, you'll learn about the transformation of organised crime, as identified in Europol's flagship report...

This season, we shine a light on the changing DNA of serious and organised crime. We will explore the biggest threats facing our internal security, revealing Europol’s analysis, the biggest operations we have supported, and how we continue to fight crime. Tune in to find out how criminal networks are adapting to new technologies, as told by law enforcement experts that take decisive action against...

This bonus episode of The Europol Podcast marks the Agency’s 25th anniversary and was recorded during a panel discussion held at Europol HQ. What has changed in the law enforcement landscape since Europol started out as the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation? In this episode, we take you on a journey through Europol’s history, from 1999 – today, as told by those at the helm of t...

Most episodes of this podcast talk about cases. We’ve spoken about taking down terrorist propaganda, thwarting cybercrime operations, intercepting ton after ton of drug shipments, and all kinds of other high-stakes, global, police operations. But behind all these cases is weeks and months of analysis, research, and innovation. At Europol HQ, there are entire departments dedicated solely to finding...

Technology is changing the way terrorists think and how they plan their attacks. One emerging threat is the world of 3D-printed weapons. 3D-printed weapons are fully-functioning firearms, made using 3D-printing technology that is available to civilians and can be used at home. In this episode of The Europol Podcast, we shed light on how terrorists are exploiting this technology, and what Europol a...

High-risk individual criminals pose some of the biggest threats to Europe’s security. Three leaders of the Kinahan Cartel, a dangerous transnational criminal organisation, were designated as High Value Targets by Europol, with the United States Department of State putting out a reward for their arrest. In this episode of The Europol Podcast, Europol and the An Garda Síochána will give you a behind...

Economic and financial crime is becoming more complex. Law enforcement are responding in kind by investing in asset recovery; the practice of finding and seizing cash and assets gained through criminal activities. In this instalment of The Europol Podcast, we go behind a case that saw the French Gendarmerie team up with Europol in a massive international fraud case.

Organised crime networks are always adapting their methods, trying to stay one step ahead of law enforcement. This is especially true for their illegal shipments; drugs, counterfeits and other illicit goods are constantly being uncovered and intercepted by law enforcement in unexpected places. One of the key avenues criminals exploit in their logistics is maritime ports. Join law enforcement, acad...

In 2016, at the height of the European Migrant Crisis, a terrible tragedy struck when reckless criminal actions cost 71 innocent lives. When authorities found the victims, police sprang into action to find those responsible and bring them to justice. In this episode of The Europol Podcast, Europol and authorities from Hungary and Austria tell the story of the Burgenland Corpses Discovery, one of E...

In the late 2010s, Europol collaborated with police in Europe, Asia, South America and the United States as part of Operation Familia. The operation targeted a Balkan cartel who were shipping vast amounts of cocaine to the European Union, using new methods that marked them out as a sophisticated criminal network. By the end of the operation, over a tonne of cocaine and millions of euros would be s...

When the world was confronted with the rise of so-called Islamic State, a core component of the terrorists’ strategy relied on propaganda. Their aim was to spread their violent ideology and radicalise people around the world. Brutal imagery went from the battlefield to the news feed, glorifying the terroristic acts of IS; law enforcement had to take action to counter the spread of jihadist terrori...

We are back for a second season. Tune in to find out how we continue to fight crime, as told by law enforcement experts that take decisive action against criminal networks worldwide. Available in January 2024.

In 2017, an organised crime group from Eastern Europe pulled off a string of robberies in warehouses up and down the UK. The spree ended with their biggest heist, as they stole a stash of rare antiquarian books worth over EUR 2 million. The goods were valuable in more than just monetary terms; they held immense cultural value as well. And when cultural goods are stolen, the best hopes at getting t...

Have you ever received an anonymous call from someone offering to invest your money and make you a fortune? If it sounds too good to be true, it’s probably investment fraud. Cybercrime experts from Latvia, Lithuania and Bulgaria explain the call centre phenomenon that is taking hold of the EU. An expert from Europol offers insights on this emerging crime area and explains why it is so lucrative fo...

In 2021, Europol’s experts worked with international law enforcement and a cybersecurity company to target one of the most notorious cybercrime groups, REvil. REvil used a ransomware-as-a-service business model to generate profits. We hear from one of Europol’s cybercrime specialists, a member of the Romanian Police and a cybersecurity engineer from Bitdefender on how law enforcement dealt with th...

Delve into the fascinating story of the international hit against narcos shipping cocaine to the EU, and discover how exactly law enforcement tackles these international drug gangs. Supported by Europol, Brazilian, Spanish and US authorities shut down a criminal organisation which was coordinating its operations via encrypted communications. The operation is recounted by specialists from Europol a...