Smuggling & Radicalization (TCP 3) Open Call

Radicalisation

Radicalisation

Smuggling

Smuggling

Status: Open Closed
Scope

MEDEA’s Thematic Community of Practitioners Fight Against Cross-Border Crime and Terrorism invites solution providers, researchers, academics, policy makers and of course experienced practitioners in this field to jointly explore proposals that will advance existing practitioner’s capabilities in the following areas:

    1. Limited access and use of automated tools to detect radicalisation content leading to violent extremism and terrorism. CGF.1
    2. Difficulties for LEAs to remove online radicalisation content leading to violent extremism and terrorism.CGF.2
    3. Better collaboration is required with Educational and Social Services for minors possibly prone to be radicalised.CGF.5
    4. Need for common processes, procedures, and laws among practitioners to suppress online radicalisation. CGF.7
    5. Intelligence exchange between practitioners from different organisations and countries is needed from the early stages to monitor effectively the Organised Criminal Group (OCG) activities. CGF.9
    6. Need for improved surveillance capabilities for both land and sea smuggling routes. CGF.10
    7. Better exploitation of existing databases and enforce open interfaces to data processing tools. CGF.11
    8. LEAs require additional capabilities to intercept voice and data communication and decrypt / decipher them. CGF.12
    9. Limitations in suppressing the non-legal transfer of funds (economic crime using the Hawala method and Cryptocurrencies) attributed to smuggling activities. CGF.13
    10. Requirement for stronger and more effective cooperation between stakeholders from various disciplines across different EU Member States and EU third countries.CGF.14
    11. Need for additional capabilities for SIGINT, IMINT, OSINT to facilitate LEAs’ information analysis units. CGF.15
    12. Need for innovative solutions to advance the detection (and analysis) of concealed drugs within vehicles, containers, transported goods, and people. CGF.18

Solution providers will have a unique opportunity to engage in a constructive dialogue with practitioners working in the field of organised crime and terrorism, from all over Europe and understand their operational needs. Researchers and academia will be offered opportunities to understand the root cause of technology related shortcomings, while policy makers will debate with practitioners over the challenges that arise from the existing regulatory frameworks. Further to the above, the responders of the call will be offered incentives and awards.

  • The following Capability gaps have no technological component and as such they are not listed in the scope section.
  • Need for communication / public campaigns to enhance civil awareness regarding online radicalisation.
  • Insufficient coordination between various private and public actors on information gathering and reporting suspicious behaviour at local and regional level, while competent authorities and practitioners are not utilising at full level synergies and cooperation at national and international level.
  • Need for a common and more frequent risk analysis process for the transport of goods that may dissimulate drugs.
  • Need for more Joint Action Days (JADs) in the region for performing checks based on risk indicators and existing intelligence.
Objectives

Solution providers, academics, researchers, and policy makers are invited to participate and present innovation approaches to eliminate/restrict/limit the above-mentioned capability gaps. Potential advancement and innovative solutions in the following areas are of interest to them.

  • Autodetection of online terrorist content or radicalisation content that may lead to violent extremism and/or terrorism.
  • Accurate translations of non-EU languages.
  • Communication, information exchange, and intelligence.
  • Databases and advanced searching tools in the field of online radicalisation and drug smuggling.
  • Vulnerability assessment.
  • Safe telecommunications between LEAs.
  • Interception of commercial applications of telecommunications.
  • Drug detection, especially in cargos and vehicles, and surveillance of the borders.
  • Monitoring of the flow of money and money laundering.

For the preceding topics, the MEDEA network members will organise a competition for solutions with high impact and innovation potential. The competition aims to reward State Of The Art (SOTA) advancements that will partially and/or fully address the capability gaps experienced by practitioners. Details about the challenge will be published during the RDI day.

Topics to be discussed

Specifically, the TCP3 MEDEA Network of Practitioners would like to explore and discuss the following technology-oriented topics:

  • Advanced autodetection tools in the field of detection of malicious content online
  • Translation tools that provide accurate translations of non-EU languages.
  • Common platforms that facilitate the cooperation, coordination, and exchange of knowledge between the LEAs involved, and between LEAs and other stakeholders.
  • Development of new databases that include and provide information about previous cases.
  • Advanced database query tools that connect existing and new databases used by LEAs.
  • Digital vulnerability assessment tools with improved functionalities.
  • Systems, platforms, and other technological tools that offer and facilitate sharing of real – time information.
  • Applications and tools that offer safe and encrypted means of telecommunication between LEAs.
  • Technological advancements in the field of intelligence that promote and facilitate the exchange of information between stakeholders.
  • Interception tools that monitor encrypted communications via commercial applications and collect (real-time) information.
  • Monitoring of blockchain transactions.
  • Developments in the field of SIGINT, IMINT, and OSINT to provide knowledge and guide LEAs.
  • Technological advancements in the field of detection and surveillance of the borders (lighter and smaller devices, use of AI and machine learning, deployment of more equipment, etc.)
  • Advanced data analysis tools in the field so as to be used by LEAs at the borders.
  • New, portable, and advanced drug detection tools, and improvement of the capabilities of the existing ones, that will be connected to constantly updated databases, to be deployed at the borders.

RDI Day

After the Open Call to Academia and Industry, a Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) Day will be organised. Responders to the open call (security stakeholders, industries, academia, research organisations and SMEs) will be able to present pertinent solutions to MEDEA members in high level of operational details.

Incentives

MEDEA will support a number of solution providers that will be invited for the “hands-on demos” with a voucher funding scheme to cover travelling and accommodation expenses, transportation of equipment and some consumable costs. A total amount of 15.000 euros is allocated for the TCP3 demonstration event (organised by practitioners), aiming to assist SMEs, Academia, and Research Projects to participate.

Awards

There will also be a budget of 15.000 Euros so as to award challenge prizes for innovative solutions that fulfil (or will fulfil) the identified TCP capability gaps. The prize awards will be defined based on the number of the capability gaps, their priority, and the urgency to fulfil said gaps (time horizon). The means to address these capability gaps will not be prescribed, leaving contestants total freedom to come up with the most promising and effective solutions. The MEDEA prize award will aim to attract a wider range of innovators, provide opportunities to innovators to forge new partnerships, promote new products and services and spur interest in the problem areas defined by the practitioners.

Click here to submit your Application.

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