Gendarmes facing Cybercrime

Today, 80% of French people use the internet every day. Thirty million of them have a Facebook profile and more and more online procedures are performed daily such as e-commerce orders, online banking and insurance and even video games. 

The web being in constant development, insecurity on it also increases. Numerous pieces of information are accessible to everyone and the problem is mainly the processing and analysis of this data, through the use that will be made of it. 

Identity theft, cybercrime on the Darknet through trafficking of weapons and drugs, money laundering via bitcoins, radicalization and child pornography continue to increase every day. 

This is why units are put in place to address these infractions. We will examine the different methods of action of the gendarmerie against this constantly developing cybercrime. 

Summary:

• The C3N Unit
• The N'Tech Gendarmes
• Methods of Action

In 1998, the cybercrime unit was created within the gendarmerie. In 2015, this department was renamed Center for Fighting Digital Crime (C3N). This unit leads and coordinates the CYBERGEND network, composed of 3500 specialized gendarmes in digital technology. 

These internet investigators intervene to exploit material seized following operations: child crime cases, various thefts, credit card fraud, etc. They analyze computers, tablets, mobile phones, GPS and other digital devices, in order to extract as much exploitable information as possible.  

The C3N also has the mission to monitor the Internet permanently. This involves identifying infractions and, of course, collecting evidence. Furthermore, all aspects of the Internet are taken into account, whether it be the classic web, social networks or even online games.  

Furthermore, the C3N monitors the Darknet and notably the bitcoin transactions and other cryptocurrencies whose sensitive nature is well known to everyone. 

The National Center for Analysis of Child Pornography Images (CNAIP) is attached to the C3N. 

Today, the threats that the gendarmerie must face have evolved, which is why the gendarme profession must adapt to these constant changes in order to fight against these different threats. For this purpose, the gendarmerie trains specialized gendarmes in new technologies and the analysis of all digital media: the N'Tech gendarmes. 

These web agents are capable of conducting investigations on networks, performing technical analyses on digital media, but also assisting investigation units that do not have the necessary skills in this specific field.  

There are approximately 250 to 300 N'Tech officers distributed across the territory who analyze nearly 300 cases every year, which represents a total of 600 terabytes of data scrutinized over a year. 

An N'Tech investigator tracks three types of cyber-delinquents:  

• Hackers who attack websites by spreading viruses. 

• Cyber-delinquents who sell online counterfeit or illicit products, or publish racist statements, violent content or content related to terrorism. 

• Cyber-pornographic attacks. 

They are also responsible for prevention missions by intervening in schools to prevent internet dangers. They also work in partnership with mayors of municipalities, prioritizing their actions on prevention and security. 

These web gendarmes have different tools and methods of action to address all these infractions present on the web. They are able to act in many specific domains. Their investigation techniques remain, secret in order not to be outpaced by cybercriminals. 

These cybercrime units are in frequent collaboration and almost permanent contact with major internet companies. Whether it's Twitter or even Facebook, these are places where it will be easy to obtain identification elements of cyber-delinquents or identity thieves.  

They very often use undercover investigation to dismantle traffickers on the Dark Web which can be used for drugs, weapons, etc. However, it is not possible to use this type of investigation for anything related to document forgery (passports, driver's licenses, identity documents, diplomas). 

Phone analysis tools allow them to determine a phone model and extract numerous pieces of information such as contact lists, voice or written exchanges, search histories, etc. Generally, all information present on a mobile device is accessible to them, even remotely. 

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