OSINT RADAR

In the OSINT RADAR project the IPoS, together with the partners, will identify the technological needs of the common operational partnerships (COP) to counter cyber smuggling and related counter-organised crime operations. In order to achieve that, the consortium will conduct a desktop analysis and implement Community of Practices (CoPs) for Scenario Awareness and Identification of DaaS organization of mutli-agencies CoPs to analyze the modus operandi of different criminal groups specialized in digital smuggling in the Western Balkan routes an at the Eastern EU borders – how they use technologies and operate. On this basis the consortium will outline recommendations for the modular integration of the tech platform to counter digital smuggling, develop a list of relevant technologies for countering Digital Smuggling and related polychrimes and design a transitional national-independent and secure IT architecture for hosting a CoP platform.

Furthermore the OSINT-RADAR will install and maintenance an integrated IT-platform in all project partner countries and recruit trainers from relevant LEA units and prosecutor offices as well as intelligence analysts and other public and private experts and court and forensic experts for National Interagency Teams (NITs).  All Interagency Teams (NITs) will be equipped with access to the platform via VPN connections. Each of the CoP-centres will be supported by specialized Nation Interagency Teams (NITs). Specific methodologies will be defined in order to conduct pilots with which the NITs will be trained (b-learning with modules for adult learning).

The complimentary modules will include: 
1. An introduction to monitoring & investigative technologies for countering Digital Smuggling and related offences;
2. Practical skills training in accessing closed- and encrypted platforms;
3. Investigating and monitoring crypto-currency movement;
4. Detection, classification, and labelling techniques in OSINT investigations
5. Legal and ethical frameworks forcounter-DaaS operations; and 6. Cross-border and public-private cooperation with a focus on intelligence exchange and data gained through ‘Trojan Horses’.

The training will aim to equip relevant law enforcement and prosecutors’ practitioners from across the Partner countries with the necessary skills to use innovative forensic technologies in the fid while respecting and applying relevant EU-legislation. Each pilot will last 12 weeks in each pilot location.

OSINT RADAR will produce a Handbook for Investigators and Analysts on Digital Smuggling. This handbook will include installation steps, a user manual for operating the tool, and programmers documentation allowing navigation in the source codes and an innovative strategy to build interagency team through liaison experts, so that data can be accessed in a secure way and public and private cooperation activities are integrated within a legal framework

Within the OSINT-RADAR project a cooperation with CEPOL will be established.

The OSINT-RADAR will conduct in-depth analysis on Digital Smuggling in the project partner countries, deploying nine liaison officers. Sensitiv and classified reports in form of investigative files and research papers will be produced.

• Objective 1: Expands the Community of Practices (COPs) to the analysis and investigations across the Western Balkans and the Eastern EU borders, while carefully considering the secondary migration flows within Europe. This activity will define the scopes and operative duties of the COP members in the partners’ countries.
• Objective 2: Identifies the DaaS (Digitalisation as a Service) modus operandi of traffickers, including the identification of the apps used to provide advertising, recruitment, communication, guidance, payment, identity and document fraud for illegal migrants.
• Objective 3: The COP monitors the digital services and online channels used for money transfers and money laundering, establishing common procedures for the use of ‘trojan horses’ as a keySIGINT tool.
• Objective 4: Provides joint support, guidance and sharing of best practices for establishing more effective multi agency and multi-level cooperation in countering phenomena connected to the “digital migrant smuggling”.
• Objective 5: Raise awareness of local, national, European and international stakeholders, including Commission services, on the importance of the “Digitalisation of migrant smuggling” and the continuously changing modi operandi of the criminal groups, by developing evidence-based policies, strategies and action plans at national, regional and continental level.

• LEAs
• Judiciary
• Courts
• EU Agencies
• Prosecutor offices
• Forensic experts
• Minstries on Education
• Labour Inspectors
• NGOs

• Result/Impact/Outcome 1:
  Long-term enhanced mutual trust among judiciary and LEAs through regional cooperation in key areas of the migrant smuggling, based on a grass roots approach, the integration of Moldova into the existing COPs between Italy and Romania, and the continuation of the Euralius project and the JIT between the prosecutor of Bari and the Albanian Spak, in form of a COP between Moldavia, Slovakia, Romania, Italy, Greece, Albania, Slovenia and Germany
• Result/Impact/Outcome 2:
  Improve the operational setting through joint-OSINT operations, build integrated capacities and capabilities among judiciary and LEAs with a regional viewand reinforce information exchange at regional and EU levels, including EU agencies (Europol, Frontex, Eurojust and Selec).
• Result/Impact/Outcome 2 and 3:
  1. Strengthening the capacities, at operational and judicial levels, of the Italian, Greek, German, Romanian, Albanian, Slovak, Slovenian and Moldovan police units in charge of pursuing and prosecuting criminal networks (notably in the areas of irregular migration, digital migrant smuggling and digital trafficking in human beings), and inso doing improving border management through a shared approach to the OSINT-HUMINT-SIGINT-cycle.
  2. Increasing the volume of cases on criminal networks involved in digital migrant smuggling andtrafficking in human beings investigated by the police and improving the corresponding resolution rate,including through regional cooperation with similar police units in the two quadrants.
• Result/Impact/Outcome 4:
  Manage counter-DaaS and counter-Digital Smuggling with a joint strategy and methodology, in form of integrated Common Operational Partnerships, using shared investigative methods based on a comprehensive OSINT-HUMINT-SIGINT model, covering the Eastern EU and Western Balkans borders, to detect and investigate digital advertising, recruitment, communication, guidance and payment used by the different criminal groups to smuggle migrants intoEurope. Part of the expected impact generated by the COP will consist in improved cross-border information exchange among judiciary and investigative multi-agencies.
• Result/Impact/Outcome 5: Adapt the legislations, in the MSs and Third Countries, to the changing profile of the criminal groups and find simplified but practical approaches to judicial and security cooperation.Target group of OSINT RADAR are 300 specialised legal practitioners (judges, prosecutors and court staff) and 800 LEAs (investigative police, border police and LEAs) in Italy, Greece, Albania, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Germany.

• Procura della Repubblica presso il Tribunale di Trieste (Italy) – Coordinator
• Procura della Repubblica presso il Tribunale di Bari (Bari)
• Hellenic Police (Greece)
• Direcția de Investigare a Infracțiunilor de Criminalitate Organizată și Terorism (România)
• FONDAZIONE AGENFOR INTERNATIONAL (Italy)
• Inspectoratul General al Politiei (Moldova)
• HOCHSCHULE FUR OFFENTLICHE VERWALTUNG – HFOV (Germany)
• Generalna Orokuratura SR (Slovakia)
• Ministrstvo za Notranje Zadeve (slovenia)
• Ministry of Internal Affairs (Albania)

• CIRD e.V.