Tackling trafficking in human beings in a security integrated Europe: addressing the challenges using trafficking schematics

This paper aims to conceptualise trafficking in human beings (THB) as an organised crime by drawing on the rational choice theory. Utilising crime scripting principles, it proposes trafficking schematics to capture and visualise THB in its entirety. Stemming from its transnational nature and varying conceptualisations, combatting THB faces challenges, such as the lack of harmonisation of policy instruments and differing stakeholder agendas. To mitigate these challenges, this paper proposes trafficking schematics. Their core lies in the modelling of THB constituent elements, including stages and their sequence, key actors and relationships, and financial modus operandi. Trafficking schematics may therefore contribute to addressing THB in a holistic, dynamic and integrated way, by enriching stakeholders’ understanding of the phenomenon and facilitating collaboration to address it. The paper contributes to theory and practice by drawing up a model of the procedural, human, logistical and environmental elements of THB that may be viewed as an instrument of public value creation.

Assisting digital forensic analysis via exploratory information visualisation

Background: Digital forensics is a rapidly expanding field, due to the continuing advances in computer technology and increases in data stage capabilities of devices. However, the tools supporting digital forensics investigations have not kept pace with this evolution, often leaving the investigator to analyse large volumes of textual data and rely heavily on their own intuition and experience. Aim: This research proposes that given the ability of information visualisation to provide an end user with an intuitive way to rapidly analyse large volumes of complex data, such approached could be applied to digital forensics datasets. Such methods will be investigated; supported by a review of literature regarding the use of such techniques in other fields. The hypothesis of this research body is that by utilising exploratory information visualisation techniques in the form of a tool to support digital forensic investigations, gains in investigative effectiveness can be realised. Method:To test the hypothesis, this research examines three different case studies which look at different forms of information visualisation and their implementation with a digital forensic dataset. Two of these case studies take the form of prototype tools developed by the researcher, and one case study utilises a tool created by a third party research group. A pilot study by the researcher is conducted on these cases, with the strengths and weaknesses of each being drawn into the next case study. The culmination of these case studies is a prototype tool which was developed to resemble a timeline visualisation of the user behaviour on a device. This tool was subjected to an experiment involving a class of university digital forensics students who were given a number of questions about a synthetic digital forensic dataset. Approximately half were given the prototype tool, named Insight, to use, and the others given a common open-source tool. The assessed metrics included: how long the participants took to complete all tasks, how accurate their answers to the tasks were, and how easy the participants found the tasks to complete. They were also asked for their feedback at multiple points throughout the task. Results:The results showed that there was a statistically significant increase in accuracy for one of the six tasks for the participants using the Insight prototype tool. Participants also found completing two of the six tasks significantly easier when using the prototype tool. There were no statistically significant different difference between the completion times of both participant groups. There were no statistically significant differences in the accuracy of participant answers for five of the six tasks. Conclusions: The results from this body of research show that there is evidence to suggest that there is the potential for gains in investigative effectiveness when information visualisation techniques are applied to a digital forensic dataset. Specifically, in some scenarios, the investigator can draw conclusions which are more accurate than those drawn when using primarily textual tools. There is also evidence so suggest that the investigators found these conclusions to be reached significantly more easily when using a tool with a visual format. None of the scenarios led to the investigators being at a significant disadvantage in terms of accuracy or usability when using the prototype visual tool over the textual tool. It is noted that this research did not show that the use of information visualisation techniques leads to any statistically significant difference in the time taken to complete a digital forensics investigation.

Using multiple GPUs to accelerate string searching for digital forensic analysis

String searching within a large corpus of data is an important component of digital forensic (DF) analysis techniques such as file carving. The continuing increase in capacity of consumer storage devices requires corresponding im-provements to the performance of string searching techniques. As string search-ing is a trivially-parallelisable problem, GPGPU approaches are a natural fit – but previous studies have found that local storage presents an insurmountable performance bottleneck. We show that this need not be the case with modern hardware, and demonstrate substantial performance improvements from the use of single and multiple GPUs when searching for strings within a typical forensic disk image.

The issue of data protection and data security in the (pre-Lisbon) EU third pillar

The key functional operability in the pre-Lisbon PJCCM pillar of the EU is the exchange of intelligence and information amongst the law enforcement bodies of the EU. The twin issues of data protection and data security within what was the EU’s third pillar legal framework therefore come to the fore. With the Lisbon Treaty reform of the EU, and the increased role of the Commission in PJCCM policy areas, and the integration of the PJCCM provisions with what have traditionally been the pillar I activities of Frontex, the opportunity for streamlining the data protection and data security provisions of the law enforcement bodies of the post-Lisbon EU arises. This is recognised by the Commission in their drafting of an amending regulation for Frontex , when they say that they would prefer “to return to the question of personal data in the context of the overall strategy for information exchange to be presented later this year and also taking into account the reflection to be carried out on how to further develop cooperation between agencies in the justice and home affairs field as requested by the Stockholm programme.” The focus of the literature published on this topic, has for the most part, been on the data protection provisions in Pillar I, EC. While the focus of research has recently sifted to the previously Pillar III PJCCM provisions on data protection, a more focused analysis of the interlocking issues of data protection and data security needs to be made in the context of the law enforcement bodies, particularly with regard to those which were based in the pre-Lisbon third pillar. This paper will make a contribution to that debate, arguing that a review of both the data protection and security provision post-Lisbon is required, not only in order to reinforce individual rights, but also inter-agency operability in combating cross-border EU crime. The EC’s provisions on data protection, as enshrined by Directive 95/46/EC, do not apply to the legal frameworks covering developments within the third pillar of the EU. Even Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA, which is supposed to cover data protection provisions within PJCCM expressly states that its provisions do not apply to “Europol, Eurojust, the Schengen Information System (SIS)” or to the Customs Information System (CIS). In addition, the post Treaty of Prüm provisions covering the sharing of DNA profiles, dactyloscopic data and vehicle registration data pursuant to Council Decision 2008/615/JHA, are not to be covered by the provisions of the 2008 Framework Decision. As stated by Hijmans and Scirocco, the regime is “best defined as a patchwork of data protection regimes”, with “no legal framework which is stable and unequivocal, like Directive 95/46/EC in the First pillar”. Data security issues are also key to the sharing of data in organised crime or counterterrorism situations. This article will critically analyse the current legal framework for data protection and security within the third pillar of the EU.