National police forces in Europe are seeking new cash for research on how to tackle cybercrimes involving cryptocurrencies.
According to an evaluation report released late last month, the Swedish Police Authority and its counterparts in Austria and Germany are preparing to bid for funding from a program called Horizon 2020, a European Union research initiative.
Specifically, the funds would be sourced from Secure Societies, a sub-section of that program focused on cybercrime initiatives. Through Horizon 2020, which was launched in 2014, the EU has made a total of €80 billion ($94.6 billion) available to cover a wide range of research areas.
Setting out the law enforcement agencies’ plans, the report states:
“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 didn’t reveal the amounts to be solicited by the three police agencies, it highlights the Internal Security Fund (ISF) – a European Commission funding pool with a total of €3.8 billion allocated for member countries’ police forces over the seven years until 2020.
The basic allocation for Sweden under this fund currently is €21 million, according to the ISF.
Swedish police car image via Roland Magnusson/Shutterstock