Archives for covid

Following the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) declaration of the Covid-19 pandemic in March, Italy was one of the first countries to implement extreme measures in an attempt to contain the drastic impact of the pandemic. With the domestic health system on the verge of collapse, restrictions to movement were imposed across the…

This report was prepared for discussion at Towards a More Safe and Secure World Master Seminar: A Multi-Regional Project (October 27 – December 9, 2020), sponsored by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The Covid-19 pandemic is disrupting globalisation and temporarily disorienting the criminal underworld. Following the…

In July, news outlets around the world reported that online hackers unsuccessfully attempted to obtain confidential Covid-19 vaccination research from pharmaceutical companies and research centres in the UK. While the true identity of the group behind these cyber-attacks remains unknown, a source from the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) revealed that the group…

Territorial control is a crucial activity for many criminal organisations. Italian mafias, in particular, consider the territory they originate from as a crucial resource. It is the place they wield an extra-legal political authority, recruit members, extort illegal tributes, and operate as brokers within the local community. While globalisation has increasingly…

Across the world, organised crime groups have wasted no time in capitalising on new opportunities presented by COVID-19. The intersections between organised crime and the virus are plentiful: while the illegal wildlife trade and deforestation are instrumental to how the crisis began, counterfeiters and drug traffickers have seen their supply…