Police seek funding for cryptocurrency research
National police forces in Europe are seeking funding for research on how to tackle cybercrimes involving cryptocurrencies.
According to an evaluation report released at the end of July, the Swedish Police Authority and its counterparts in Austria and Germany are preparing to bid for funding under the Horizon 2020 programme.
Specifically, the funds would be sourced from Secure Societies, a sub-section of Horizon 2020 which focuses on cybercrime initiatives.
Setting out the law enforcement agencies’ plans, the report stated: ‘At present, the Swedish Police are participating in a consortium with the [Federal Police Force] in Austria and its counterpart in Germany to prepare a bid for Secure Societies on virtual currencies and the Darknet.’
While the report failed to reveal the amounts to be solicited by the three police agencies, it highlighted the Internal Security Fund (ISF) – a European Commission funding pool with a total of €3.8bn allocated for member countries’ police forces over the seven years until 2020.
The basic allocation for Sweden under this fund is currently €21m, according to the ISF.
