Cyber Crime Unit (Hellenic Police)

Cyber Crime Unit (Hellenic Police)
The Cyber Crime Unit (which can be literally translated as Electronic Crime Prosecution or roughly Cyber Crime Prosecution) of the Hellenic Police, for which legislative responsibility remains with the Ministry of Citizen Protection, was officially founded in 2004 with Greek Presidential Decree 100/2004 Government Gazette 69/Α/3-3-2004. In 2011 with Presidential Decree 9/2011 Government Gazette 24/Α/21-2-2011 was the establishment of the Authority of Financial Police and Cyber Crime Subdivision, of Police Directorate level, commenced operation in August 2011 comprises the Financial Police Subdivision and the Cyber Crime Subdivision. It was reformed in 2014 with Article 17 of Section 2 of Law 4249/2014 Government Gazette 73/Α/24-3-2014 in which renamed Cyber Crime Division, including the foundation and structure of Cyber Crime Subdivision of Northern Greece in Thessaloniki. Although it is still continues to be commonly known to as Cyber Crime Unit or Cyber Crime Center. The legislation for the Cyber Crime Division has amended with the Article 31 of the Presidential Decree 82/2020 Government Gazette 183/A/23-9-2020.
History
Cyber crime law enforcement part of the Hellenic Police was introduced in 1995 in the line of duty carried out by police officers with information technology skills, among whom there was then police officer Manolis Sfakianakis who would later be appointed the first Head of the Cyber Crime Unit commenced in the Head’s post in the time of Unit's founding on 3 March 2004 renewing the term of office until 17 February 2016, following the appointment in of George Papaprodromou as the next Head from 27 May 2016 to 2 November 2018. The Cyber Crime Unit initially acquired IT equipments funded by private individual sponsors and consisted of around four police officers where it has since been staffed by personnel around eighty covering different competencies including civilian personnel qualified with university degree and postgraduate studies. In the context of education to its officials, it has provided programmes of training and certification services at various times, such as the programmes CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) and CISA (Certified Information Security Auditor), of the act Cyber Crime Division Personnel Training, of the Operational Programme Public Sector Reform 2014-2020.
Sectors
The Office of the Public Prosecutor of Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece (Court of Cassation; Areios Pagos) has been issued Encyclical 02/2019 on 22 May 2019 sets out the Cyber Crime Division’s terms of service and area of responsibility aimed specifically at what cases must submit to Cyber Crime Division. As of January 2020, the Cyber Crime Division in Athens, and alongside its branch the Cyber Crime Subdivision at the Northern Greece in Thessaloniki, operating 24/7 service is further divided into five Departments:
1. Department of Administrative Support and Information Management
2. Department of Innovative Actions and Strategy
3. Department of Electronic and Telephone Communication Security and Protection of Software and Intellectual Property Rights
4. Department of Minors Internet Protection and Digital Investigation
5. Department of Special Cases and Internet Economic Crimes Prosecution
Services
It has resolved a large number of fraud cases, extortion and child abuse, while several resolved cases were only partially committed in Greece. The Unit has intervened in a number of suicide attempts.
In addition, the Cyber Crime Unit was launched a mobile app called Cyberkid accompanied with its respective website, funded through private sponsorship by the Wind Hellas providing useful information to internet users, especially children, parents, legal guardians, using the internet. The Cyberkid app for portable devices (smartphone, tablet) is available for free download from the Google Play, App Store and Microsoft Store that users can directly contact the Cyber Crime Division in the event of a cyber crime incident.
The Cyber Crime Unit has organized a series of tele-conferences and a number of event days delivered a lecture and informative presentation open to the public in various locations across the Greece to showcase crucial cyber matters and dangers of internet.
It was also co-organized together with the competence authorities the annual Conference of Safe Cyber Navigation in Athens funded by various sponsors, having simultaneously live streaming, with the first conference was held on 8 February 2012 honoring the Safer Internet Day (SID). On 10 November 2022 a Memorandum of Cooperation has been signed between Hellenic Police and Foundation for Research & Technology – Hellas (FORTH). The Cyber Crime Division is operating a website called CyberAlert.
Citizens can contact, either giving their name or anonymously, with the Cyber Crime Division headquarters in Athens and its branch in Thessaloniki in order to report internet attacks, crimes or complaints, requiring police intervention. Hellenic Police’s Cyber Crime Division’s published official methods of contact are:
1. By in-person visiting 24/7 at Cyber Crime Division headquarters in Athens and its branch in Thessaloniki, or at any Hellenic Police’s local police station (precinct)
2. By telephone number calling on: 11188 available 24/7 (free of charge)
3. By fax
4. By post
5. By sending an e-mail
6. By sending a message via Cyber Crime Division’s Cyberkid mobile app
7. By sending a Tweet message to the Cyber Crime Division’s Twitter verified account (@CyberAlertGR).
8. Citizens can also file a cyber crime complaint online through the government portal gov.gr, using their personal account codes of the tax authorities’ Taxisnet service, in accordance with 1) offenses against minors through internet, 2) financial cybercrime involving electronic/digital currencies, 3) breach of privacy of electronic and telephone communications, 4) illegal sharing of audio-visual works through internet, 5) illegal access to computer, 6) cases of fraud with computer.
According to the National Administrative Procedures Policy, complaints from consumers, either giving their name or anonymously, can also be made on the platform (kataggelies.mindev.gov.gr) of the General Secretariat of Trade and Consumer Protection of the Ministry of Development and Investment, launched on 11 January 2023, concerning infringements within Greece, within the European Union or even outside the EU. It offers a choice of different categories, such as personal data protection, consumer goods, services, banking services, and others.
Controversies
Incident report via Twitter
Cyber Crime Division has written on many of its announcements and press releases that "It is recalled that citizens can contact, anonymously or by name, with the Cyber Crime Division in order to provide information or to report illegal or offensive acts or activities committed through internet to the following contact details, where among these means the Cyber Crime Division’s Twitter verified account (@CyberAlertGR) is included:
Telephonically: 11188
Sending e-mail at: (official email of Cyber Crime Division)
Via the web gateway (portal) of the Hellenic Police (portal.astynomia.gr)
Via mobile application for smartphones: CYBERΚΙD
Via twitter: @CyberAlertGR
Submitting to the police authorities, or other government prosecution authorities, anyone crime or illegal act or minor offence reports via social networking sites (such as Twitter) it could pose privacy risks and also might not be treated your content as confidential allowing your personal information may be disclosed to outside third parties.
Gifts, grants, sponsorships
Since its foundation in 2004, Cyber Crime Division has received grants, gifts and sponsorships by individuals, public and private companies, with acceptance decisions publicly available on the Ministry of Digital Governance’s online portal Diavgeia (diavgeia.gov.gr), an online public registry of all activities relating to public sector. These are cash money, services, goods, supplies, computer equipments, event expenditures and various others. Such companies include Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Bold Ogilvy, Motor Oil Hellas Corinth Refineries, Diamantis Masoutis, Skroutz Internet Services, Piraeus Bank, Visa Hellas, Eurobank, Wind Hellas, Vodafone, Nova, Forthnet, Cyta, OTE and Cosmote, Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air, Hertz Autohellas, Geitonas private school, Regional Development Fund of Central Macedonia, and others.
Lengthy term of office
The many years of the term of office of the head of the Cyber Crime Division is in question, namely Manolis Sfakianakis whose term of office lasted from 2004 to 2015 about 11 successive years in number, and Vasilis Papakostas whose is head from 2018 onwards.
Fax machine
After 1 January 2021, and as of 2023 onwards, Cyber Crime Division and the Hellenic Police continue to publish, on press releases, posts and its official methods of contact, the fax machine for method of contact for the public. With the law 4727/2020 published in the Government Gazette 184/A/23-9-2020 it is abolished since 1 January 2021 the handling of administrative, or not, documents via fax machine from the public, either physical or legal persons or legal entities, to the Public (Government) services of the Public Legal Entities (NPDD) and the organization of local authorities, such as Cyber Crime Division and Hellenic Police.
Awards
On 2 April 2015, the First (Gold) Award in the Best Social and Economic Development App was bestowed on Cyber Crime Division for the Cyberkid Mobile Application funded by the Wind Hellas, from the Mobility Forum & Apps Awards 2015, with the Konstantinos Ouzounis, CEO at Ethos Media S.A., presenting the award to Police Major General Manolis Sfakianakis on behalf of the Cyber Crime Division in a ceremony took place at the Divani Caravel Hotel in Athens. The Cyberkid mobile application is an initiative of Hellenic Police Headquarters with Ministry of Citizen Protection implemented by the Cyber Crime Division.
On 20 November 2014, the UNICEF Greece 2014 Award was bestowed both on Cyber Crime Division of the Hellenic Police and in its head Manolis Sfakianakis in recognition of their contribution to promote and protect the rights of children in Greece, from the UNICEF’s Greek National Committee Awards 2014 – 25th celebration to commemorate the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, World Children’s Day. The ceremony took place in the Arcade of Book located in the Arsakeion Mansion in Athens.
On 13 February 2006, a Honorary Distinction was bestowed both on Cyber Crime Unit and in its head in recognition of their valuable social work, from the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs, with the Minister Marietta Giannakou presenting the award to Manolis Sfakianakis in a ceremony took place at the General Secretariat for Youth in Athens.
References
External links
Hellenic Police official website
Hellenic Police
Government agencies established in 2004
2004 establishments in Greece
Cybercrime