In July, the Force joined the "No More Ransom" project, which was initiated by the European Police Office (Europol), the Dutch National Police and two cyber security companies, in the global fight against ransomware. The Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) made use of the opportunity to strengthen international multi-agency collaboration with a view to combating intensified cyber attacks and promoting CSTCB's Project Cyber Defender.

Currently, 33 law enforcement agencies around the world and 70 information technology entities from the public and private sectors have taken part in the "No More Ransom" project. It provides a multi-functional online platform, offering the general public free-of-charge services, including analysis of ransomware, online database, prevention advice, decryption tools and giving guidance to victims to report ransomware incidents to law enforcement agencies. The decryption tools on the platform so far have helped to decrypt victimised files of more than 28 000 computers.

For details about the project, please visit the Force's Police Public Page (www.police.gov.hk/ppp_en/04_crime_matters/tcd/project_nmr.html) or the Europol project's website (www.nomoreransom.org).