3.3 Public-private cooperation against cybercrime The effectiveness of traditional law enforcement mechanisms is challenged by the features of the digital world, which consists mostly of privately-owned infrastructure and numerous different players across a variety of jurisdictions. As a result, cooperation with the private sector, including industry and civil society, is fundamental for public authorities to fight crime effectively. In this context, the financial sector is also key and cooperation should be stepped up. For example, the role of Financial Intelligence Units75 in the context of cybercrime should be strengthened. Some Member States have already taken key steps. In the Netherlands, financial institutions and law enforcement authorities work side-by-side to address online fraud and cybercrime in the Electronic Crime Task Force. The German Competence Centre against Cyber Crime provides the operational hub for its members to exchange information in close collaboration with the German Federal Police Office and develop measures aimed at ensuring protection against cybercrime. 16 Member States76 have created Cybercrime Centres of Excellence to facilitate cooperation between law enforcement authorities, academia and private partners for the development and exchange of best practices, training and capacity building. The Commission supports the establishment of public-private partnerships and cooperation mechanisms through dedicated projects such as the Online Fraud Cyber Centre and Experts Network,77 implementing information sharing model and standard in order to analyse and mitigate electronic crimes risks and online frauds. In the context of cybercrime, private undertakings need to be able to share information on concrete incidents with law enforcement – including personal data – in full respect of data protection rules. The EU data protection reform, which will enter into application in May 2018, provides a common set of rules setting out the conditions under which law enforcement authorities and private entities can cooperate. The European Commission will work with the European Data Protection Board and relevant stakeholders to identify best practices in this area and, where appropriate, provide guidance. 3.4 Stepping up the political response The recently adopted framework for a joint EU diplomatic response to malicious cyber activities78 (the “cyber diplomacy toolbox”) sets out the measures under the Common Foreign and Security Policy, including restrictive measures which can be used to strengthen the EU's response to activities that harm its political, security and economic interests. The framework constitutes an important step in the development of signaling and reactive capacities at EU and Member State level. It will increase our capacity to attribute malicious cyber activities, with the aim of influencing the behaviour of potential aggressors, while taking into account the need to ensure proportionate responses. Attribution to a State or a non-State actor remains a sovereign political decision based on all-source intelligence. Implementation work on the 75 76 77 78 Financial Intelligence Units serve as national centres for the receipt and analysis of suspicious transaction reports and other information relevant to money laundering, associated predicate offences and financing of terrorism, and for the dissemination of the results of that analysis. Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom. The EU-OF2CEN initiative aims to enable the systematic, EU-wide sharing of internet fraud related information between banks and law enforcement services for the prevention of payments to fraudsters and money mules and for the investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators involved. It is co-funded by the EU (Internal Security Fund-Police Programme). http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2017/06/19-cyber-diplomacy-toolbox/. 16