I527-290 ESRIF Final Report (WEB).indd - European Commission

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3.14 Evidence and forensics
Due to the growth of international organised crime, forensics need strengthened capabilities regarding cybercrime, the
misuse of fi nancial and payment systems, counterfeiting of products, money laundering and the theft of valuable goods
during transport. An eff ective European approach demands cross-border exchanges of law enforcement information together
with a comprehensive accreditation network to investigate cross-border crime. This approach should include the creation of
standardised protocols, in a formal and widely accepted structure, for relevant databases.
3.15 Informed Decision Making
One of the main challenges– but also an opportunity – for developing European solutions is in the area of human-system
interaction. To facilitate the decision making processes, faster and more effi cient tools should be designed for early warning of
harmful events, for the detection of suspicious behaviour, for preventive detection of possible failures and for the simulation of
unfolding events in order to evaluate the eff ects of potential decisions. In addition, the man-machine interface requires specifi c
research to ensure that solutions are eff ectively designed for end-users, providing them with increased effi ciency. This would
include advanced visualisation techniques to provide a more complete picture to handle complex situations effi ciently.
Data fusion, which deals with the sorting, fi ltering and combining of data and information from various sources, is a vital
component in decision support systems and embraces legal and integrity aspects as well. To exploit all available information
sources, research into system and data interoperability and visualisation is required. The changing security environment
requires innovative management concepts based on novel approaches such as network-enabled capabilities, or NEC. This
new conceptual model is based on autonomous decision-making units that need intelligent planning and decision support
from the strategic to tactical level.
ESRIF asserts that end-users will make better decisions when these are based on a risk management approach. This is true for
both day-to-day operation of security systems and, combined with added-value information, also for strategic decisions on
investments, co-operation, task assignment and organisation. Particularly for the latter, a comprehensive risk management
must contain elements of foresight to deal with risk scenarios that change over time, and must be able to handle confl icts
between diff erent aspects of security and the diff erent players involved. Research is needed on the principles for future risk
management and governance. It must encompass both the technical and ethical dimension to this challenge.
ESRIF FINAL REPORT - PART 1 • European Security Research And Innovation Agenda (ESRIA)