Understanding the drivers of cybercriminality, and new methods to prevent, investigate and mitigate cybercriminal behaviour. CC-DRIVER

Athens 6 April 2023

On 1 March, 2023, the International Summit on Youth and Cybercrime was held in Valencia (Spain), with plenary presentations and multiple panel discussions on the trends of cyber juvenile delinquency, including their human and technical drivers.

Keynote speeches were held by Dr. Nada Milisavljevic from the European Commission and Prof. Julia Davidson from University of East London. The latter presented the latest cutting-edge research on pathways into and out of cybercrime from a young people’s perspective, referring to a comprehensive European study with over 8,000 participants. The panel discussions also focused on young cybercriminality, each from a special perspective: policy makers, private sector, academia and research, law enforcement, and awareness and education. Even though there were many differences in how (young) cybercriminality affects actors in the various fields, there were surprisingly robust and foremost common opinions on how to tackle cybercrime: (1) We need to understand (young) cybercriminality. (2) We need to cooperate, no matter how old, what background, what nationality – cybersecurity is a shared responsibility.

The event, hosted by Valencia Local Police, was live-streamed and simultaneously translated into Spanish and English. Over 150 persons from 33 nations attending on-site were joined by 220 viewers online. Participants‘ backgrounds were law enforcement, academia, education, industry, public administration and policy making, civil society organisations, and media, as well as other areas of expertise in the field of cybercrime and cybersecurity. The press was also present and the Summit was featured in the local news as well as national news which featured interviews with CC-DRIVER and RAYUELA project partners, including Valencia Local Police and Trilateral Research.

The event took place within the framework of the CC-DRIVER and RAYUELA projects, which are funded by the European Union to understand the drivers of cybercriminality and to develop methods to prevent, investigate and mitigate cybercriminal behaviour. Both projects presented their research and the innovative tools developed within the projects to the interested audience.

CC-DRIVER project aims to better understand the human and technical drivers of cybercriminality with a special focus on the factors that lead young people to cybercrime. The project’s research on cybercrime-as-a-service, juvenile cyber delinquency, and criminality is being translated into innovative investigation, prevention and policy toolkits that law enforcement agencies, policymakers and others can use to counteract cybercriminality.

“Cybercrime is ubiquitous, and despite numerous efforts, it is not yet properly addressed, as the nature of these threats requires more effort and a more collaborative approach. Thanks to this research, the drivers of cyber-criminality are now better understood, and tools are available to help the most vulnerable individuals in society”, said Chief Research Officer of Trilateral Research and CC-DRIVER coordinator, David Wright.

For more information on the International Summit visit the CC-DRIVER website.

For more information on the CC-DRIVER project visit: