BUNDESKRIMINALAMT

Their core work

The Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) is Germany's federal criminal police agency, equivalent to the FBI in investigative scope. In EU research, BKA contributes operational law enforcement expertise to security-focused projects — testing forensic tools on real-world scenarios, defining requirements for detection technologies, and validating solutions against actual criminal investigation workflows. Their participation spans explosives detection, digital forensics (smartphone data extraction, encrypted communications), cybercrime investigation (cryptocurrency tracing, darknet monitoring), and identity document fraud prevention.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

BKA's early H2020 participation (2015–2017) centered on physical detection technologies — quantum cascade lasers for remote explosives sensing, sewage monitoring for drug labs, and cryptocurrency tracing on the darknet. From 2018 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward digital forensics and cyber-enabled crime: extracting evidence from encrypted smartphones, detecting manipulated identity documents, and uncovering steganographically hidden data. This mirrors the broader shift in criminal investigation from physical evidence toward digital evidence and cybercrime.

BKA is moving deeper into digital evidence challenges — encrypted devices, manipulated media, and hidden communications — making them an ideal end-user partner for any project developing forensic or counter-fraud technologies.

How they like to work

BKA participates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as an end-user agency that provides operational requirements and real-world validation rather than driving research agendas. With 128 unique partners across 22 countries, they maintain an exceptionally broad network, joining large security consortia where they serve as the law enforcement voice that grounds research in practical investigative needs. This makes them a highly sought-after partner for credibility and impact demonstration in Horizon proposals.

BKA has collaborated with 128 distinct partners across 22 countries, reflecting participation in large EU security consortia. Their network spans the full European security research ecosystem — universities, technology companies, and fellow law enforcement agencies.

What sets them apart

BKA is Germany's top federal law enforcement agency, which gives any consortium immediate credibility with EU security reviewers and access to real operational scenarios for validation. Unlike academic partners who model threats theoretically, BKA brings actual criminal casework experience — they know what investigators need because they ARE investigators. Having BKA in a consortium signals that research outputs will be tested against genuine law enforcement requirements, not lab conditions.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EXFILES
  Largest BKA budget (EUR 377,802) and directly addresses one of the most pressing challenges in modern policing: extracting forensic evidence from encrypted smartphones.
• iMARS
  Tackles the growing threat of AI-generated face morphing in identity documents — a problem at the intersection of biometrics, document security, and border control.
• TITANIUM
  Early mover in cryptocurrency investigation tools for law enforcement, addressing darknet markets and virtual currency tracing when the field was still nascent.