Capacity-Building on Combating Cybercrime in Central Asia: Phase II

Summary

This project strengthens the capacities of the five OSCE participating States in Central Asia, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, to investigate and prosecute cybercrimes and other crimes involving electronic evidence in line with international human rights standards. It is the second phase of the OSCE project Capacity Building on Combating Cybercrime in Central Asia, and expands the OSCE’s assistance to address the main additional needs that have arisen amid a rapidly evolving cybercrime threat landscape in Central Asia. 

Details

Aim

To support criminal justice authorities in Central Asia in investigating and prosecuting cybercrimes and other crimes involving electronic evidence in line with OSCE commitments, relevant international standards, and international human rights commitments. 

Context 

Like many other regions, the OSCE participating States in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) have been undergoing rapid digitalization. This has brought a number of opportunities but also new security risks, including a steep increase in both cyber-dependent and cyber-enabled crimes. In response to this emerging threat, in autumn 2020 the OSCE launched its first regional project to support criminal justice institutions in Central Asia to sustainably train their police officers and prosecutors on combating cybercrime. It was the first such comprehensive initiative of its kind in the region.  

By the project’s conclusion in summer 2024, almost 600 police officers and prosecutors from across the five Central Asian countries had benefited from the OSCE’s training activities, and law enforcement educational institutions in each state received IT equipment for new computer classrooms, as well as training materials. The project also strengthened regional dialogue on cybercrime training and education, by providing a platform to build new professional networks and partnerships. 

At the same time, the cybercrime landscape has continued to evolve. The COVID-19 pandemic and the continuous development of digital technologies, including the emergence of generative artificial intelligence, have accelerated the growth in cyber-related criminal threats. The need to further strengthen criminal justice responses to cybercrimes and other crimes involving electronic evidence has become an even more pressing priority for Central Asian countries. 

This Phase II project builds on the achievements of the first phase and expands the OSCE’s assistance to several new areas. The project is implemented in close co-operation with the OSCE field operations and law enforcement educational institutions in Central Asia. 

Outcomes 

Based on a comprehensive needs assessment conducted in late 2018, the OSCE designed a multi-year regional capacity-building initiative on cybercrime for Central Asia. Given the novelty of the topic for the region, it was decided the project would focus on educational aspects and so address one of the main challenges related to combating cybercrime – the knowledge gap among criminal justice practitioners, in particular police officers and prosecutors. 

Outputs 

The project has four main outputs: 

• Educational institutions for police and prosecutors in Central Asia provide professional training on investigating and prosecuting cybercrimes and other crimes involving electronic evidence. 

• Enhanced capacities of criminal justice authorities in Central Asia to identify, collect and analyse electronic evidence. 

• Stronger regional co-operation on investigating cybercrimes and other crimes involving electronic evidence among criminal justice authorities in Central Asia. 

• Greater awareness among policy makers and the public in Central Asia about threats posed by cybercrime and human rights considerations in criminal justice responses to cybercrime. 

Upholding international human rights commitments when investigating and prosecuting cybercrimes and other crimes involving electronic evidence is a cross-cutting priority. 

Activities 

Activities under the first pillar addresses the knowledge gap among police officers and prosecutors by strengthening the capacities of relevant educational institutions to develop and provide systematic and sustainable national professional training programmes on dealing with electronic evidence and investigating cybercrimes. It includes activities such as the development of national competency frameworks and training strategies, support for the development of curricula and e-learning management systems, a mentorship programme for lecturers, and support for rolling out national professional training programmes on cybercrime and electronic evidence in each beneficiary country. 

The second pillar aims to strengthen national capacities to identify, collect, and analyse electronic evidence. It includes activities such as assessments of national digital forensic capacities and needs, a study visit on good practices in digital forensics, the development of standard operating procedures and internal guidelines, a targeted training and mentorship program for digital forensic examiners, and support with hardware and software equipment for digital forensic labs. 

The third pillar aims to improve regional co-operation on cybercrime by providing relevant forums and tools. It includes activities such as the organization of a regional tabletop exercise and an adjacent workshop on cross-border cybercrime investigation, the establishment of a cybercrime focal points network, the development of an online platform for the network, and the organization of two regional workshops and a regional review conference for the network. 

Finally, the fourth pillar focuses on raising awareness about cybercrime threats among policymakers and the general public. It includes activities such as the development of a policy paper on international practices and models of criminal procedure legislation related to cybercrime and electronic evidence, the organization of national seminars for policymakers, and the conduct of public surveys and national public campaigns on cybercrime threats.