Cyber Crime and Cyber Terrorism

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CHAPTER 18
Evolution of TETRA
a limitation of current PPDR communication networks. In Europe, especially dur-
ing the early 1990s when there was a transition to a borderless society following the 
Schengen Agreement, the freedom to cross borders has also meant that those with 
criminal intent would also be able to freely cross borders. As a result it became ap-
parent that there was a need to ensure good communications between the PPDR or-
ganizations of each of the countries and enable PPDR officers to travel across borders 
without losing communications. Neighboring countries’ networks must interoperate 
with one another for both routine day-to-day and disaster relief operations.
PPDR organizations cannot afford the risk of having communication failures in 
their voice, data and video transmissions; and this can only be ensured by building ro-
bust, secure and reliable, modern PPDR mobile communications networks. Also, for 
these organizations to be adequately prepared to tackle any future events like those we 
have recently witnessed, they need to be properly equipped. There are needs for new 
advanced services and applications envisioned in the next generation of PPDR com-
munication systems such as remote personnel monitoring, remote sensor networks 
(forest fire tracking or water/flood level monitoring), two-way real-time video, 3D po-
sitioning and GIS, mobile robots, multi-functional mobile terminals (ID verification, 
Transfer of images; Biometric data; Remote database access; Remotely controlled 
devices), etc. Also, the need for a very reliable, secure and resilient communication 
network for public protection that can cope with threats of terror and disaster at all 
levels, toward citizens all the way to its communication infrastructure, is necessary. 
However, this growing demand for a reliable and secure high-speed data communica-
tion means that the current capacity for PPDR communication network (i.e., TETRA) 
will be exceeded, requiring an upgrade or replacement at some stage in the future.