Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organisation, conducted a Digital Security Challenge, the first of its kind, from March 21 to 24, to solve a complex cybercrime scenario and gather enough evidence for a successful prosecution.

Explaining the backdrop of the challenge, Interpol said that it was based on a fictional oil company that was being blackmailed by ‘Cracker10000’ that threatens to release sensitive information.

"The investigation began after ‘Cracker10000’ published a page from a blueprint stolen from the fictional Petro oil refinery company on the 'Webspace' social media platform, and threatened to post other sensitive information unless a 10,000 bitcoin ransom demand was met”, it said.

The contestants had 52 hours to identify the blackmailer demanding a 10,000 bitcoin ransom. 64 contestants from 26 countries participated in the challenge. They were divided into eight teams each comprising a mixture of expertise including cybercrime investigators and digital forensic experts.

Teams were awarded points for successful completion of each step of the enquiry, but penalized for any hints or advice requested. The teams were also required to gather legally admissible evidence which was then presented to a mock court where they were assessed on both the investigative steps taken and their final prosecution report.

During the four-day challenge, specialists from the private sector and academia also gave presentations and hands-on training sessions on the relevant digital forensics and cyber investigation topics.

The event was hosted by the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI), in close collaboration with the private sector including Cellebrite, Cyber Defense Institute, Magnet Forensics, MSAB, NEC Corporation and Trend Micro and with support from University College Dublin and the Institute for Infocomm Research.

“Cybercrime investigations are becoming more and more complex and this challenge replicated some of the twists and turns which investigators face every day,” said Madan Oberoi, Director of Innovation and Outreach at the IGCI. “What was equally as important was the involvement of the private sector in this exercise. Its input in providing both hardware and software along with training and demonstrations clearly showed how essential it is for cooperation between law enforcement and industry to ensure officers have the skills and tools to tackle these crimes.”

Last year, Interpol created its own version of digital currency to train police forces belonging to their member nations for solving digital currency related crimes.