Posted 16 February 2010
UCD favourite for EU centre of excellence in fight against cybercrime
The Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern TD has pledged Government support for UCD in its bid to become an Excellence Hub for Cybercrime Investigation and Training as part of the EU Strategy on Cybercrime.
The UCD Centre for Cybercrime Investigation is the only facility in Europe that educates specialist officers (from around the world) in IT forensics to tackle online crime.
Some 125 investigators from 25 countries have are enrolled or have completed masters qualifications at the UCD Centre for Cybercrime Investigation since it was formally established in 2006. Aside from training and education, the Centre also develops theoretical and practical research into cybercrime, and produces and validates IT software.
Pictured at UCD Centre for Cybercrime Investigation: Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dermot Ahern TD with Professor Joe Carthy (left), Head of UCD School of Computer Science & Informatics
“UCD has succeeded in getting European Commission funding of €4.5 million for a project entitled 2Centre, which envisages rolling out a cybercrime investigation unit into each EU country as part of the EU Strategy on Cybercrime,” said Minister Ahern. “The centres will be based on the UCD model.”
According to the Minister, Centres like the one at University College Dublin are at the cutting edge in tackling increased levels of cybercrime and play a leading role in training both gardai and police from Europol.
“The Irish police force is the jewel in the crown when it comes to fighting cybercrime,” said Professor Joe Carthy, Director of the UCD Centre for Cybercrime Investigation and Head of UCD School of Computer Science & Informatics. “They are leading the way in Interpol and Europol and are held in the highest esteem.”
The Centre offers an MSc in forensic computing and cybercrime investigation for law enforcement, and an MSc in digital investigation for IT experts.
(Produced by UCD University Relations)
