Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) Cybercrime Intelligence Manager, Ms Charlotte Wood, gave a presentation today at the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) 2017 Conference.
Ms Wood spoke to attendees about the cybercrime threat landscape in Australia.
The ACIC actively works to disrupt cybercriminals who try to make a profit from everyday Australians. The estimated cost of cybercrime to Australia in the 2013–14 financial year was $1.1 billion.
Ms Wood defined cybercrime as an intrusion on a computer, system or network for a financial motivation.
“The ACIC’s role in combating cybercrime is to discover and prioritise, understand the criminal networks and enhance response strategies by working closely with partners,” said Ms Wood.
“These partners include other law enforcement agencies and the intelligence community, both domestically and internationally.”
Ms Wood highlighted that the cybercrime impacting Australia continues to originate offshore. She gave examples of recent malware and ransomware incidents to demonstrate the impact that cybercrime is having on our community, economy, and national security.
Ms Wood also examined business email compromise, which is being quantified for the first time in Australia through the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN).
The ACORN allows the public to easily report instances of cybercrime, and also provides advice to help people recognise and avoid common types of cybercrime.
“The most common method of business email compromise is imitating or compromising a company executive’s email, and requesting an urgent funds transfer,” Ms Wood explained.
“Reports of business email compromise in Australia have increased since the inception of ACORN in late 2014.
“There were 749 cases reported in the 2015–16 financial year and 243 reported cases within the first quarter of 2016–17.”
Ms Wood explained that cybercrime exploits the ability to operate internationally, as countering cyber threats requires the global collaboration of private sector, law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
The ACIC exchanges information and intelligence nationally and internationally to create a richer picture of current and emerging threats and risks.
More information about the ACSC Conference can be found online: https://acsc2017.com.au/