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INTERPOL and Europol have agreed on new “operational priorities” for their continuing collaboration on cybersecurity and other global threats, the two organizations said on Monday.

“The renewed framework strengthens coordination across a range of crime areas, including organised crime, cybercrime, economic and financial crime, and counter-terrorism,” Europol said in a statement. “Developed jointly by operational experts from both organisations, the priorities are designed to support a more proactive and coordinated response to criminal networks operating across borders.”

Top officials from both groups signed the agreement at an INTERPOL conference in Toledo, Spain, in May.

The international law enforcement organizations did not release the text of the new framework, but their 2001 agreement addresses procedures for exchanging liaison officers, sharing intelligence and other matters.

Marshaling national forces to fight cybercrime

The new agreement extends the close collaboration between two groups that play significant coordinating roles in botnet takedowns, hacker arrests and other operations to combat malicious cyber activity.

INTERPOL has worked with governments in the Middle East, Asia and Africa to identify and detain cybercriminals and to dismantle their infrastructure. Europol has been even more active, partnering with member governments and others to shut down illegal cryptocurrency services, pervasive malware, phishing-as-a-service platforms and operations that made malicious software look genuine.

Both organizations have also worked with major technology companies and private cybersecurity firms as part of their investigations.

International partnerships have become an increasingly important tool for taking down cybercrime operations, as hackers spread their infrastructure across national borders and deploy increasingly effective obfuscation techniques.