Cybercrime Unit

The PCIC Cybercrime Unit was created in response to the rapid growth of digital threats and the increasing use of computer means for committing crimes, a phenomenon that the PCIC Organic Law expressly recognises as an area reserved to this institution. In an ever more connected society, computer-based crime is one of the most demanding challenges for justice systems, owing to its cross-border nature, the speed at which it operates, and the volatility of digital evidence.

The unit investigates a wide range of digital offences, including unauthorised access to computer systems, online fraud and computer fraud, digital identity theft, extortion and blackmail in digital environments, sexual exploitation of minors through platforms and social networks, and attacks on critical State or private infrastructure. It also acts against disinformation capable of disturbing public order.

On the technical side, the unit has capacity for the extraction and forensic analysis of electronic devices - computers, mobile phones, tablets, and other digital media - the preservation of evidence in cloud environments and social networks, the tracing of activity on digital platforms, and the identification of users from IP addresses and other metadata. All digital-evidence collection and handling follows international standards that ensure admissibility at trial and resilience to adversarial challenge.

Continuous training of investigators in digital-investigation tools and methodologies is a permanent priority, given the pace at which technologies and criminal techniques evolve. The unit actively cooperates with international counterparts on cross-border investigations, including via INTERPOL channels, and participates in regional networks for information sharing and best practice in cybercrime.