Israel Police and BGU Launch Center for Computational Criminology

The new Center for Computational Criminology was launched on Wednesday at BGU. The Center, a joint initiative of the Israel Police and BGU, will develop advanced cyber, big data and artificial intelligence tools to fight crime.The ceremony was held at BGU’s Advanced Technologies Park in the presence of Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh and BGU President Prof. Rivka Carmi.

Cybercrime has risen precipitously in recent years as criminals and even rogue governments have capitalized on the anonymity of cyberspace to cloak their activities while reaping sizeable profits. Use of social media-based evidence has also been on the uptick in recent years as more and more information is shared online.BGU researchers will work side by side with the Israel Police’s cyber investigators to develop new artificial intelligence and machine learning tools for law enforcement.“The last, most significant scientific breakthrough to change law enforcement was DNA testing, says Prof. Lior Rokach, head of the new Center, Chair of the Department of Software and Information Systems Engineering, and a leading expert on artificial intelligence, “Today, we are on the threshold of the next big breakthrough: analyzing big data to discover hidden patterns to predict and prevent crime. The AI revolution of the past few years will prove to be even more significant than DNA testing for law enforcement, providing them with unprecedented investigative tools and new sources of evidence.Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh: “The Israel Police’s Cyber Unit, which was created to lead the national effort to combat cybercrime, will be collaborating with BGU’s cybersecurity experts to constantly improve the police’s enforcement and prevention capabilities, by staying at the cutting edge of technological developments in the field. This cooperation will enable the police to bring technology to bear more effectively in enforcing the law and fighting crime, whether cybercriminals or traditional criminals, by turning a threat into an opportunity.BGU President Prof. Rivka Carmi said at the event, “BGU is a recognized international leader in cybersecurity, IoT and Big Data research. Putting that expertise to work for the State of Israel is a privilege and comes on the heels of the government’s decision to place the national CERT here at the ATP in Beer-Sheva. The Center will bring together academic research expertise and the world of law enforcement to prevent crime in cyberspace and in general.Cyber@BGU Director Prof. Yuval Elovici: “We have no doubt that the Israel Police will benefit from our cybersecurity experience and knowledge by applying it to their operations.Cyber@BGU (CBG) serves as a shared research platform for the most innovative and technologically challenging cyber-related projects, in partnership with various multi-national companies and governmental organizations.Situated in BGU’s Advanced Technologies Park in Beer-Sheva (Israel’s Cyber Capital), CBG encompasses, among others, the Cyber Security Research Center, a joint initiative with the Israel National Cyber Bureau, and the Telekom Innovation Laboratories in partnership with Deutsche Telekom.Core research under the Cyber@BGU umbrella includes IoT security; cyber for intelligent transportation; cyber for aviation; malware; AI-based cyber defense; blockchain; network security; adversarial AI; machine learning; deep learning; fraud detection; and Big Data analysis for cyber security. 

 Source: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev