Responding to high-tech crime
The increasing use of the Internet for financial transactions and as an everyday business tool has created new revenue streams for criminal networks. Nick O'Brien reports on how law enforcement authorities are responding.
It is now 18 years since Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web. There is no doubt the Internet has revolutionised the way we live, with well over 1 billion people having access to the web.
The implications for the world of security and law enforcement have been seismic with the net becoming an integral part of most peoples' day.
Law enforcement agencies world-wide have had to establish "high-tech" units to deal with the crimes that can be perpetrated using the net. These units also need the ability to forensically examine computers and other electronic devices.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have taken the concept of the high tech units a stage further and have established a High Tech Crime Operations (HTCO) portfolio under Assistant Commissioner (AC) Andrew Colvin. This is not an ordinary police unit, and was created in February 2008 with the future very much in mind.
The AFP has fused the current Australian High Tech Crime Centre with all other technical operational resources in the AFP to create a unit that is more than the sum of all its parts. AC Colvin acknowledges that his staff need different skills to those of the conventional police officer and when it is fully staffed with over 300 personnel it is likely to contain more unsworn staff than federal agents.
AC Colvin also recognises that he needs help from the private sector and banks and major software companies in particular. He realises that the police cannot deal with the problem on their own and may well need to sub-contract some tasks, such as analysis of seized hardware out to companies. Colvin also affirms that corporate Australia has a lot to offer in the way of advice.
Make sure all officers understand the Internet
The AFP wants to change the way that police operate and make sure that all officers understand the Internet and technology.
The AFP will be deploying "undercover officers" on the net so that paedophiles will not know if they are communicating with a child or a cop playing the role of a child.
A major challenge for the new unit will be recruitment and retention of staff. Generation Y is with us and the idea of a career for life is an anachronism to most of these workers. AC Colvin recognises these issues and wants to create a "business environment" within the portfolio to avoid the traditional cultures that exist.
The AFP will work with school students to create youth forums that can advise police on what will be coming over the horizon in the way of new technologies and trends. The HTCO will not expect its staff to stay in the unit for a 30 year career and will anticipate that staff will work with them for a few years before trying another job, but Colvin says that the good people will be welcomed back.
The new unit faces innovative challenges that their colleagues of yesteryear will not have dreamed about. Someone attempting to perpetrate a fraud on an Australian could live in Africa, South America or Eastern Europe and the chances of arrest and conviction could be remote because of the disparate capabilities of international police forces and the problems of extradition. Therefore, part of the new unit's remit will be to educate the public so that they do not get drawn into internet scams.
Many and varied challenges
Staff in the HTCO will face many and varied challenges that will make the work interesting and different from a run of the mill office job. There is a web site called "Second Life" (SL) where people can create their own lives and buy property.
In 2007, The Australian reported that the ABC's premises in SL were destroyed by a bomb and that there were registered jihadi terrorists and jihadi terrorist groups. Police will obviously be interested in individuals who try and explode bombs – even if it is in the virtual world.
Also in 2007, Estonia was subjected to a three week denial of service attack which caused severe problems and the Estonian authorities were forced to close down the sites under attack to foreign internet addresses. The sites under attack were government, ministries, news organisations and financial institutions.
Such an attack has not happened here as yet but the HTCO will certainly be thinking about how Australia would deal with a similar incident.
A 2007 report by the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) on Organised Crime also acknowledges the problem stating, "Advances in technology are increasing the effectiveness of many of these criminal activities. The internet has had a dramatic effect on the operations of criminal groups, particularly those involved in financial crimes and pornography…. Alternatively, organised crime groups may use technology such as secure communication tools to facilitate criminal activity or protect themselves from law enforcement."
So it is clear the HTCO has its work cut out, but it's also apparent that the AFP is tackling the problem with enthusiasm and innovation and will welcome collaboration and partnerships with industry, youth and other agencies.
About the author: Nick O'Brien is Associate Professor, Counter Terrorism (CT) at Charles Sturt University. He started in CT in 1981 and was head of international CT operations and intelligence in Special Branch at New Scotland Yard in London before coming to Australia as CT liaison officer at the British High Commission.