This issue of the CJM contains four main sections. The first section covers legislative developments in the area of cybercrime, cyber-enabled crime and electronic evidence in 2018.

The judicial analysis section presents legal analyses of court rulings rendered by courts in different Member States. The courts ruled on different cyber-related matters such as law enforcement authorities (LEA) accessing an e-mail account with found credentials, or accessing a device by use of a suspect’s fingerprint and covert investigation. In a Swedish case, the court qualified the fact of forcing children to perform online sexual acts on themselves as rape. In addition, the European Court of Human Rights ruling in the case of Benedik v. Slovenia is analysed in detail. Several other national court rulings are also briefly summarised.

The next section is devoted to the topic of data retention, particularly the recent developments within the European Union with regard to the application of data retention rules. A preliminary ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, following interlocutory questions made by a Spanish court, is analysed and an overview is given of other national legal and case law developments.

The topic of interest in this issue of the CJM is the role of encryption in criminal investigations. The chapter details the legislative landscape in relation to bypassing and attacking encryption, as well as issues encountered.