Lodewijk van Zwieten, LL.M

Dutch National Prosecutor for Cybercrime & Lawful Intercept, National Public Prosecutor's Office

Biography

Lodewijk van Zwieten graduated as a Master of Law at Leiden University in 1997, specializing in criminal law. He wrote his Master's thesis on the use of special interrogation techniques in criminal cases. After his studies, he clerked at the Amsterdam Court of Appeals, before working as criminal defence counsel at Vink & Veldman Attorneys in Amsterdam. In 2002, mr Van Zwieten entered into a traineeship for prospective judges or prosecutors (RAIO). Since 2002 he has been working as a public prosecutor in Rotterdam, Alkmaar and Haarlem (Schiphol).

As the Dutch National Prosecutor for Cybercrime & Lawful Intercept, mr Van Zwieten is responsible for the criminal investigations into high tech crime, that are handled by the National High Tech Crime Unit of the Dutch National Police. Furthermore, mr Van Zwieten is involved with policy making concerning cybercrime and lawful intercept and advising in matters of legislation. Recent criminal cases mr Van Zwieten has been involved in, include the Bredolab takedown and the DigiNotar breach.

Presentation: Legal dilemmas: an analysis of the legal issues surrounding the Bredolab takedown and the intervention against child pornography services within the TOR-network

Criminal investigations into high tech crime often pose legal dilemmas. The internet is borderless, yet legal boundaries make it difficult for cross-border investigation to be effective or take place at all. Furthermore, effective (technical) interventions may invade the privacy of many people that have unknowingly been made victim to digital crimes.Do the means justify the cause? To tackle these issues and maintain a proper balance, a prosecutor must acquire a great measure of legal dexterity.

The criminal investigations resulting in the takedown of the Bredolab botnet and the intervention against child pornography services within the TOR-network are examples of cases where the technical and investigative innovation were equaled by a bold legal approach. The presentation offers a breakdown of the decisive legal issues in both investigations.