Question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions the UK has received support from the European Cybercrime Centre in each year since that centre's creation.

Answer (Mr Nick Hurd)

In a modern, interconnected world, crime is increasingly international and does not respect borders. The Government is clear that effective cooperation with EU Member States on security, justice and policing in order to tackle serious organised crime will continue to be a top UK priority.

The 2015 National Security Strategy (NSS) confirmed that cybercrime is a top threat to the UK’s economic and national security. The UK’s future security and prosperity depends on our ability to safeguard the digital information, data and networks at home and abroad. The cyber threats we face continue to grow in scale and sophistication. The Government will continue to invest in law enforcement capabilities to ensure delivery agencies have the capacity to deal with the increasing volume and sophistication of cyber crime.

The Government values the role of Europol and that is why the UK opted-in to the new Europol Regulation, which came into force on 1 May 2017, enabling us to maintain our current access to the agency and benefit from its cooperation and operational advantages until we leave the EU.

Intelligence exchange between UK law enforcement and Europol is well-established and takes place on a daily and routine basis on a wide range of criminal activity, including cybercrime. The National Crime Agency (NCA) also support Europol with seconded staff, including within the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3). This cooperation continues to assist UK efforts to tackle cybercrime impacting on the UK.

Since its launch, the UK has submitted 414,776 malware files to the Europol Malware Analysis Solution.

The data requested on how many occasions the UK has received support from the European Cybercrime Centre is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.