As cybercrime gets organised, so does law enforcement - Australian High Tech Crime Conference

Law enforcers get organised on cracking organised cybercrime

Cybercrime experts, including representatives of the US Secret Service will confer with Australian law enforcers, government, the judiciary and the legal profession at the Australian High Tech Crime Conference at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Convened by the Australian Federal Police with partners the Communications Law Centre in the UTS Faculty of Law and the Australian Institute of Criminology, the conference will consider the emerging issues in cybercrime and the means of successfully prosecuting offenders across national boundaries.

It will be held from Tuesday to Thursday (9 to 11 June) at the Faculty of Law on the UTS Haymarket campus in Quay St.

"Cybercrime is no longer the domain of lone nocturnal hackers – it is now dominated by organised syndicates involved in a range of crimes perpetrated under the screen of internet anonymity," said Director of the Communications Law Centre, Professor Michael Fraser.

Conference speakers include NSW Attorney General John Hatzistergos, Minister for Home Affairs Senator Bob Debus, data interception experts for the FBI and barrister for the Kazaa case John Hennessy, as well as many other cybercrime specialists, legal professionals, members of the judiciary and academics.

Professor Fraser said the conference was intended to help all stakeholders understand the issues across jurisdictions, and exchange effective methodologies between agencies.

"There are so many different areas of cybercrime: phishing, malware, hacking, fraud, carding, skimming (stealing small amounts of money from bank accounts), child pornography and cyber attacks on institutions and corporations," he said. "Cyber spying and online stalking, harassment and bullying are other major areas of crime online.

"There is a lot of work to be done in addressing these very ingenious and fast moving cybercrimes. Evidence gathering is a challenge, due to the dynamic, ever-changing nature of the internet and the difficulty of gathering evidence that can be used in court. By definition, cyber criminals do not respect any borders or jurisdictional boundaries, so cooperation and coordination is of the essence.

"Another issue is the active tension between liberties, freedoms and enforcement. While the community must be protected, our valuable liberties and rights must also be fully respected. It is obviously very difficult to maintain a proper balance."

Professor Fraser said UTS had been approached by the Australian Federal Police to jointly host the conference because of its strong academic reputation and connections to the profession. "Hopefully, this conference will lead to ongoing research which will be of benefit to the rule of law and to the community," he said.

See the Australian Australian High Tech Crime Conference (AHTCC) website for more.

Further Information:

Professor Michael Fraser
Director of the Communications Law Centre
Ph (02) 9514 9941, Michael.Fraser@uts.edu.au

Rachel Hallett
Communications Law Centre Coordinator
Ph (02) 9514 9936, Rachel.Hallett@uts.edu.au