This award is intended to recognize and reward the valuable contributions of individuals and/or teams in Canadian law enforcement and private sector leaders who have demonstrated excellence, innovation and initiative in the prevention, detection, disruption, and dismantling of cybercrime actors and organizations and, as a result, have had a positive impact for cybercrime victims.

The eCrime Cyber Council (ECC) has adopted the definition of cybercrime as that developed in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Cybercrime Strategy published in 2015. Cybercrime is interpreted as a crime where cyber – the Internet and information technologies such as computers, tablets, personal digital assistants or mobile devices – has a substantial role in the commission of a criminal offence. There are two primary forms of cybercrime:

• Technology-as-target: Crimes which were only made possible by the advent of the Internet and related digital technologies, which includes hacking and spamming banks, governments, and individual Canadians. These are sophisticated attacks against computer hardware and software that are conducted via the Internet.
• Technology-as-instrument: It’s about “old crimes committed in new ways”, such as online forums where criminals can readily, and often anonymously buy, sell and exchange illicit commodities and criminal services on an unprecedented scale. Interpol defines this as “cyber-enabled crime”: transformation of “traditional” crimes with the advent of the Internet i.e. crimes against children, financial crimes, cyberterrorism.

Two Excellence in the Prevention and Investigation of Cybercrimes (EPIC) Awards will be presented annually:

• EPIC Investigation Award: This award recognizes cybercrime investigators/teams.
• EPIC Innovation Award: This award recognizes an outstanding cybercrime product or service from private sector innovators.

ELIGIBILITY

EPIC Investigation Award

1. A nominee must be a Canadian law enforcement officer/ agency as either the lead or primary partner in the investigation.
2. The recipient(s) must agree to have at least one partner representative from each organization nominated attend the award presentation ceremony to take place at the Gala Cocktail Reception of the International Policing Cybercrime Summit.
3. The recipient(s) must offer a 45-60 minute high-level case study review of their investigation in a plenary session. The presentation need only offer whatever details can be shared of the process and techniques used and that do not threaten or risk compromise to matters of confidentiality, integrity, or future prosecutorial efforts.
4. Recipient(s) are invited to participate in the Innovation Den taking place during the International Policing Cybercrime Summit.

Failure or an inability to agree to all of the above conditions could see said nomination deemed non-compliant and not be considered nor assessed.

Please note that registration, travel (economy class or mileage) and accommodation costs will be covered for up to three EPIC Investigation Award recipients.

EPIC Innovation Award

1. A nominee must be a Canadian company or be a product/service that is offered in Canada through dedicated Canadian-based operations or research facilities, or is the result of a joint-venture with a Canadian partner.
2. The recipient(s) must agree to attend the award presentation ceremony to take place at the Gala Cocktail Reception of the International Policing Cybercrime Summit.
3. The recipient(s) must offer a 15-minute presentation of their product/service in a plenary session.
4. Recipient(s) are offered an exclusive session during the Innovation Den taking place during the International Policing Cybercrime Summit.

Failure or an inability to agree to all of the above conditions could see said nomination deemed non-compliant and not be considered nor assessed.

Please note that registration costs will be covered for one representative from each company/partner to a maximum of three complimentary passes. Additional registrations are available at the CATA member rate.  Travel and accommodation fees to and from #IPCS2019 are the responsibility of the winning recipient(s).

SELECTION CRITERIA

There are five key areas being rated – each criterion is clearly defined in the nomination form and each must receive a valid response:

EPIC Investigation Award

1. Impact to Victim(s) – 30 points
2. Partnerships – 20 points
3. Complexity of the Investigation – 20 points
4. Innovation – 20 points
5. Successful Outcome – 10 points

EPIC Innovation Award

1. Company Overview – 15 points
2. Wholly Canadian Owned/Operated – 5 points
3. Technological Vision – 10 points
4. Market Recognition/World Class Product & Service – 10 points
5. Business Success & Financial Risk – 10 points

Please refer to the appropriate nomination form for a description of each of the above-mentioned criteria.

The Chief or the leader of organization may be contacted with respect to the submission.

NOMINATION PROCESS

• Complete the online EPIC Investigation Nomination Form or the EPIC Innovation Nomination Form in full.
• Submissions may include separate attachments offering evidence to support the nomination. This will be complementary to the Nomination Form.  Support documentation may be forwarded to Ms. Cathi Malette at cmalette@cata.ca with the subject line EPIC Award Nomination.

SELECTION PROCESS &TIMELINES 

• August 9: The nomination portal is launched
• September 21: Deadline to submit nominations
• September 28:  Deadline for the Selection Committee to complete its independent analysis
• September 30: Deadline to complete the fact and reference check period for the top nominees, based on aggregate scores
• October 4: Group assessment sessions are conducted
• October 5: The winner(s) are notified
• October 5-8: Winner acceptance confirmation period
• October 11-15: Alternate winner confirmation period in the event the winning nomination can no longer meet the mandatory requirements
• November: The award presentation, plenary sessions and Innovation Dens take place during the International Policing Cybercrime Summit

Please note that these dates are tentative and are subject to change.