G7 24/7 Network
Definition
An informal around-the-clock contact network originally established by G7 countries and now including additional states, allowing law enforcement to request urgent informal assistance in cybercrime cases. Contact does not require a formal MLAT request but cannot compel evidence production.
- Origin
- Established informally by G7 countries
- Purpose
- Urgent informal assistance in cybercrime cases
- Availability
- Around the clock contact points
- Limit
- Cannot compel evidence production
Common questions
How is a G7 24/7 Network request different from an MLAT request?+
A network request is an informal contact to a designated point of contact abroad, useful for urgent needs like preserving volatile data quickly, while an MLAT request is a formal treaty-based process that can compel production of evidence but moves much more slowly.
Why would an investigator still need to follow up with an MLAT after using the network?+
The network can secure quick preservation of data such as server logs before they are deleted, but actually obtaining that preserved data as usable evidence for prosecution typically still requires the formal compulsory process an MLAT provides.
Related terms
- Article 29 Preservation Request
- An expedited mechanism under the Budapest Convention allowing a signatory state to ask another signatory to preserve specific computer data for at...
- Budapest Convention
- The Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (2001), the first binding international treaty on cyber offences. Requires signatory states to criminalise illegal...
- Central Authority
- The government body designated under an MLAT or domestic law to send and receive formal mutual legal assistance requests. In the US...
- Chain of Custody (Cross-Border)
- The documented record of every person who handled digital evidence from its original collection in a foreign jurisdiction through its transfer, receipt,...
- Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT)
- A bilateral or multilateral treaty under which signatory states agree to assist each other in gathering evidence for criminal investigations. MLATs define...