
Digital technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), have been used to support the fight against the current pandemic affecting the entire world since the beginning of 2020. AI has been particularly implicated in the search for a treatment and a vaccine, as well as in the accelerated development of testing methods.

The pandemic renders individuals and society extremely vulnerable in all respects, including in cyberspace. Malicious actors are exploiting these vulnerabilities. Criminal justice authorities need to engage in full cooperation to detect, investigate, attribute and prosecute COVID-19 related offences and bring criminals to justice.
With the Budapest Convention, a framework for effective cooperation with the necessary rule of law safeguards, is available to 65 States. As a result of capacity building programmes, including a recently launched series of webinars and an online resource, many States should now be able to act.

Bribery in the health care sector makes medical services more expensive and of a lower quality, and undermines patients' trust in the health services. In addition it distorts competition and has serious financial consequences for public health care insurers, and thus for the state budget. The Council of Europe Criminal and Civil Law Conventions on corruption are particularly relevant in this context and should be ratified and effectively implemented. In addition, the Council of Europe National AML/CFT Risk Assessment Methodology offers a unique tool to mitigate the money laundering risks linked to corruption in the health sector. See GRECO and MONEYVAL