The AviaTor project team is thrilled to present the 2022 Annual report. In contrast to the introductory report of 2021, which provided insight into the background, purpose and ambitions of the AviaTor tool, this report provides a deep dive into user statistics, the consequences of new legislation and upcoming new technology.

This Annual Report marks the first time the AviaTor project team is able to present data coming directly from AviaTor. It is important to note that the AviaTor database is a stand-alone installation, meaning the 18 LEA users each have their own version of the tool and they are in no way connected. The data that was retrieved from AviaTor is exclusive to each LEA, and comparing this data provided us with many new insights that show what effect AviaTor has had on the workflow process and processing time of these LEAs.

An overview of what you will find in the 2022 AviaTor Annual Report:

• Project Updates and Development
  2022 was a year of growth for AviaTor. Several new LEAs were onboarded as new users and more and more LEA users went from testing the tool to actively using the tool. We provide a full overview of all the key developments that took place and take a brief look at what is to come.
  
  
• Deep Dive into AviaTor Data
  Greece, Belgium and Moldova have all been using AviaTor to process NCMEC reports in 2022. Each LEA has its own unique way of processing these reports. We look at the data provided by AviaTor and take a deep dive into the numbers. Is the number of reports still increasing? Are AviaTor's features helping to reduce the time spent processing reports?

"The most notable advantage is that AviaTor allows us to prove connections between reports from the present and the past, which would be nearly impossible for a human to remember."

Artur Degteariov, head of the section responsible for tackling online child sexual abuse within the Directorate for cybercrime investigations of Moldova.

• Practical Use of AviaTor
  Moldova is one of the countries where AviaTor is the only tool that is being used to process NCMEC reports. During an interview with Artur Degteariov, head of the section responsible for tackling online child sexual abuse within the Directorate for cybercrime investigations of Moldova, we talk about some of the unique challenges Moldova faces in their fight against CSAM and how AviaTor is playing an important role in facing these challenges.
  
  
• The Legislative Proposal to Counter Child Sexual Abuse
  Last year the European Commission proposed a new regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse within the European Union. This has raised numerous questions among key stakeholders in the field of child safety, including LEAs, on the possible impact it might have on the current procedures and workflows. In this article, we hear from the European Commission as they answer some of the most frequently asked questions concerning this newly proposed regulation.
  
  
• The Impact of the Proposed CSAM Regulation on the AviaTor Project
  We dive into the possible consequences the proposed CSAM Regulation could have on the workflow of EU-based LEAs and the number of incoming reports. What can we expect from the new EU Centre?
  
  
• Cyber Grooming Detection
  One of the fast-growing threats online for children is the danger of cyber grooming. How can we utilise the functionalities of AI and machine learning to recognise text patterns pointing towards grooming attempts? Can a computer be taught to recognise online grooming and, if so, can this be built into AviaTor?
  
  
• The Way Forward
  Mathijs Homminga, founder and CTO of Web-IQ, takes a look at the future. Can the growing number of NCMEC reports be seen as an opportunity for improvement?
  
  

Get your digital copy of the 2022 AviaTor Annual Report (here .

The AviaTor project kicked off in 2019 with the aim of developing a database for NCMEC reports that could be used by LEAs to process these reports in a revolutionary new way - saving time and increasing capacity. By integrating artificial intelligence and open-source intelligence features into the tool, the AviaTor database is able to prioritise reports based on indicators set by the user of the software - in this case exclusively LEAs.

In the project's first years, giant steps were taken to develop the tool, build capacity, and grow the network of LEA users. Each new LEA that was onboarded meant more feedback and more opportunity for the developers to improve the tool. Right now, in 2023, the AviaTor database tool is being used by 18 different national LEAs, which means there is now data available to analyse, and we can present the impact AviaTor has on the work of law enforcement.