From 25 to 27 August 2026, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe organized the second specialized training course on the "Foundations of Digital Forensics and the Use of Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) for Fighting Cybercrime" for 18 representatives of Tajikistan's law enforcement and judicial authorities.
The training brought together 13 officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and five prosecutors from the Prosecutor General's Office. Two international experts from the Law Enforcement Academy of Uzbekistan delivered the three-day course.
The course is part of a regional initiative co-ordinated with the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan and the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The initiative comprises three training courses: two in Dushanbe and one in Tashkent, aimed at strengthening professional capacities to investigate and address cybercrime.
"As online criminal activities increase, strengthening the capacities of law enforcement agencies is crucial, particularly in regions like Central Asia, where digital technologies are rapidly evolving and criminal justice institutions need to continuously adapt their capacities to respond effectively", said Ewan Todd, Head of the Politico-Military Department at the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe.
Following an opening ceremony, participants completed an initial knowledge assessment, allowing the trainers to tailor the sessions to their needs. The programme covered different types of cybercrime, challenges related to their classification, the fundamentals of digital forensics, and legal frameworks governing digital evidence.
Participants also explored key concepts such as hash functions and their role in verifying the integrity of digital evidence and gained hands-on experience using digital forensic tools. The course further introduced OSINT methods for criminal investigations, including approaches to navigating the dark web, as well as relevant international standards and cybersecurity legislation.
The initiative contributes to strengthening the capacities of Tajikistan's law enforcement and judicial authorities to investigate cybercrime effectively and apply digital forensics and OSINT techniques in their work.
