The Council of Europe and Team Cymru organised for the fifth time the Underground Economy Conference at the Council of Europe premises, in Strasbourg, France, on 1-4 September 2025. This year’s event gathered around 600 experts from 77 countries representing law enforcement agencies, the cybersecurity community, private industry professionals, financial services and academia from across the globe contributing to thematic workshops and case discussions.
Speaking at the opening, the Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe emphasized the strong partnership with Team Cymru and the importance of fostering dialogue between law enforcement, the private sector, cybersecurity experts and academia. He underlined that cybercrime has evolved into a transversal threat impacting human rights, democracy and the rule of law which reaffirms the central role of the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention) and its Second Additional Protocol. These instruments provide the international legal framework to address emerging challenges such as electronic evidence, AI , virtual assets and cyberviolence, while ensuring the protection of human rights.
The Conference focused on the global threat landscape and the role of cooperation networks, highlighting the increasing need for cross-border collaboration. More than 86 workshops, presentations and information-sharing talks by and for practitioners touched on key subjects such as cybercrime trends, innovative investigative techniques, and the latest tools and practices from the technology sector.
The Council of Europe introduced the participants to its mission on cybercrime and its contribution to the global effort to fight cybercrime, accompanied by capacity building support to numerous countries and regions. The CyberSEE project contributed with a dedicated cryptocurrencies track featuring sessions on blockchain investigations, ransomware, investment frauds, voluntary cooperation between cryptocurrency exchanges and law enforcement, as well as frontline tools for practitioners. Major international operations and practical case studies were in the spotlight as well: Operation PowerOFF coordinated by EUROPOL took down dozens of DDoS-for-hire services through coordinated, data-driven investigations, Operation Kraken, conducted by the Australian Federal Police, struck at an encrypted communications platform, resulting in numerous arrests and cryptocurrency seizures. Other presentations included Lumma Stealer Disruption, targeting a global infostealer ecosystem, Operation Talent, dismantling underground marketplaces with millions of users, and Elrond Hack, in which authorities responded to a major cryptocurrency theft and successfully recovered the majority of stolen assets.
As the global cybercrime landscape continues to expand, the Underground Economy Conference remains a dynamic platform for global cooperation against cybercrime. By bringing together experts from various sectors and regions the event achieved its most important objective of reinforcing public-private partnerships and triggering new joint actions against cybercriminals.
