Australian agency preparing for rise in cyber crime

The rise of cloud computing has added new responsibilities to the Australian Crime Commission (ACC)—the country’s national criminal intelligence agency. According to the agency, there appears to be virtually limitless opportunities for organised crime to “go virtual”. John Lawler, Chief Executive of ACC, told FutureGov Asia Pacific that while the cloud offers numerous benefits, there are “significant vulnerabilities” with the technology that could lead to exploitation by organised crime.

“If we know anything about organised crime networks it is that they see this [cloud computing] and any future technological change as being ripe with the potential for profit,” said Lawler. “We know this because history tells us that the growth of organised crime has mirrored the growth of a more globalised world.” Lawler’s cloud computing concerns stem from the technology’s mobility of data—the information that people provide when they make a purchase, sign up for memberships, answer surveys and join competitions is now raw material for economic activity. Lawler explained: “This information can be analysed, augmented, used, sold or rented—not just locally but globally and with tremendous speed.”

For ACC, the data held in cloud computing is “vulnerable to exploitations by both individual hackers and organised crime groups seeking to collect and sell these information”. To deal with this potential threat, Lawler said that among ACC’s many approach is a focus on the common motivator for all organised crime: profit. “We need to continuously question our methods and approaches and ask if they remain viable in a virtual world. We need to ask whether we have the appropriate skill sets to tackle a new paradigm of organised crime,” he said. “And if not, how do we go about gaining those skills.”

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Australian police aim at lawyers, accountants

Detectives will target bent lawyers, accountants and underworld money launderers as part of the biggest intelligence reforms by Victoria Police in more than 30 years. Deputy Commissioner Sir Ken Jones told The Age police were committed to identifying groups and individuals never before linked to high-level criminal activities. ''Our mission is to get these people,'' he said. As part of the reforms, the 150-strong State Intelligence Division will gather information on serious and organised crime groups. Dossiers on major players will be handed to senior officers in the crime department to assign to specially selected taskforces.
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Crime squad detectives have been told that organised crime will be given a higher priority in future investigations. More local crime will be handled at district level. Under the restructure, intelligence officers will also look at ''serious crime'', which includes violent street gangs, knife attacks, serial offenders and professional burglary groups. ''This will roll out across the state,'' Sir Ken said. The intelligence model has already found a spate of ethnic-related organised abductions where victims are held until relatives pay a ransom into secret bank accounts. The crimes are rarely reported to police. Organised crime targets will include syndicates linked to identity fraud, internet scams, blackmail and drug dealing.

Under the blueprint, finalised in recent months, investigations will be more nationally focused. Victorian intelligence officers will be assigned to work with other law enforcement agencies, including the Australian Crime Commission and the Australian Federal Police. ''Organised crime works on national and international levels, and so will we be using 21st-century methods to deal with it,'' Sir Ken said. "They are sophisticated and well organised. But our gang is bigger and better resourced. We will co-ordinate our efforts with other law enforcement agencies.'' He said Victoria would host quarterly law enforcement meetings with partner agencies ''to see we are working together effectively''. Jeff Pope, Assistant Commissioner (Intelligence and Covert Support), said police would also work with prison authorities to monitor jailed gangsters who remain influential underworld figures. ''Prison intelligence is incredibly important. We know these people continue to be of influence behind the walls.''

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Bikies and triads in waterfront drug conspiracy

One of the nation's biggest investigations into organised crime has exposed an international drug importation syndicate with links to the Comanchero bikie gang, Chinese triads and corrupt Australian officials. Operation Hoffman, a landmark multi-agency investigation led by the Australian Crime Commission (ACC), has also revealed the deep links between drug importers and rogue Australian maritime workers.

NSW Police have identified a group of drug-importing Sydney port workers with government maritime security cards who have been active since 2004. In Victoria, authorities have uncovered links between corrupt Melbourne port workers, the Hells Angels and prominent Italian criminals. Law enforcement agencies in NSW recently updated a list of 150 organised crime organisations that need targeting.

The two-year Operation Hoffman has found multimillion-dollar crime syndicates are operating like multinational enterprises, evading police by drawing on local and overseas resources and the latest technology. It has led to big ecstasy, heroin and crystal methamphetamine drug busts across Australia, the biggest drug bust in Tonga and the discovery of a bikie armoury, including automatic weapons and imitation police equipment, in May last year. Those arrested include alleged drug runners with links to the Chinese triads and the Perth president of the Comanchero, Steven Milenkovski.

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Australia opens Fusion Centre targeting organized crime

Attorney General Robert McClalland has opened a new intelligence analysis centre in Canberra targeting organised crime backed by more than a billion dollars in information technology assets. The so-called Criminal Intelligence Fusion Centre within the Australian Crime Commission draws data and expertise from some of the federal government's largest IT operations, from the Australian Taxation Office, Customs and Border Protection, Centrelink, Austrac, Immigration and the Australian Federal Police.

The Fusion Centre aims to boost the ability of state and federal law enforcement to identify and analyse high-risk cash flows, patterns of crime and their links to individuals, businesses and corporate structures that may be involved in crime. Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said the social and economic cost to Australians of organised crime was about $15 billion annually. Government's Organised Crime Strategic Framework would make sure Commonwealth intelligence, policy, regulatory and law enforcement agencies were working together to prevent, disrupt, investigate and prosecute organised crime, Mr O'Connor said.

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