12 stories this week:
Sydney man accused of accepting money for selling national security information – 14 April 2023
The AFP has been charged a NSW man with a foreign interference offence, after he allegedly accepted money in exchange for information about national security issues. It is alleged the Australian man compiled reports for the officers, and received payment for them. The 55-year-old businessman was arrested at his Bondi home and will appear in court.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-14/afp-charge-man-with-foreign-interference/102226298
Catalytic converter thefts on the rise in Australia as rare metal values climb – 16 April 2023
There has been an increase in catalytic converter thefts in Australia. Thieves steal converters from a car’s exhaust system as they contain precious metals. Automotive industry groups want harsher penalties and better devices to stop the thefts.
ACC calls for united front as scammers steal over $3bn from Australians – 17 April 2023
The latest Targeting Scams report has revealed Australians lost a record $3.1 billion to scams in 2022, as government, law enforcement and the private sector look to improve collaborative efforts to support the community in the fight against scams. This is an 80 per cent increase on total losses recorded in 2021. Investment scams were the highest loss category ($1.5 billion), followed by remote access scams ($229 million) and payment redirection scams ($224 million).
New AFP headquarters to solve crime faster – 17 April 2023
Criminal investigations are becoming more complex as offenders take advantage of advances in technology. The AFP new Victorian headquarters will have the technology to stay ahead of criminals. The upgraded facilities, ensure the AFP is equipped to deploy at a moment’s notice to fight crime. They are backed by specialists, with the latest technology to process and analyse vast amounts of information, in real-time to identify patterns in criminal activity to ensure focussed disruption efforts.
https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/new-afp-headquarters-solve-crime-faster
Chatting with a hacker – 17 April 2023
The people behind the cyber attacks on Australia are highly organised criminal gangs, often based in Russia, with dozens of employees and even HR departments. Security researchers have linked the Medibank attack to REvil – one of the most successful cyber gangs of all time. With the help of researchers, a conversation was held with a hacker who says he’s worked for them.
Former Gold Coast property promoter jailed for scamming millions of dollars from pensioners – 17 April 2023
A former Gold Coast property promoter who scammed nearly $2 million from investors – most of them pensioners – has been jailed for more than eight years for fraud. Investors, including pensioners, were owed more than $9 million when Mr Silver’s companies went into liquidation.
Why accused criminals are challenging evidence in Sydney from one of the world’s biggest police stings – 18 April 2023
A landmark committal hearing for more than 50 people is being held in a Sydney court this week, with the group challenging the crucial source of evidence used by investigators involved in Operation Ironside, the AN0M app. It is alleged black-market phones installed with the so-called “Trojan horse” app were being passed around the underworld from 2018 in the belief they were off the police radar. The group of alleged bikies and criminals’ lawyers will explore whether that evidence was legally intercepted.
Save the Children report shines light on child rights violations in Australia’s youth justice system – 19 April 2023
Widespread child rights abuses in Australia’s youth justice system have detailed in a new ”Save the Children report”, which calls for an urgent nationwide overhaul to ensure better outcomes both for children and the community. The report reveals every Australian state and territory jurisdiction has a long way to go to uphold the rights of children across the areas of policing, bail and remand, diversion, court processes, sentencing practices, and detention. WA, QLD and the NT were the worst offenders when it comes to violating the rights of children in youth justice facilities.
AI called upon as cyber crime surpasses human capability – 19 April 2023
The cyber crime industry has already evolved beyond human capability and is increasingly seeing the adoption of artificial intelligence models to help stop bad threat actors from stealing sensitive data. Jonathan Jackson, BlackBerry’s Asia Pacific and Japan director of engineering, said the adoption of AI to fight cyber crime has been a long time coming.
‘It was instantaneous’: Chasing the crypto – 21 April 2023
It is the ultimate in cyber-chess. The crooks are constantly looking for a weakness to exploit while the cops are searching for a weakness in the criminal organisations’ defences. Cyber-cop Detective Sergeant Dion Achtypis lists some key facts. Australia has the second-highest concentration of dark net drug traffickers in the world, just behind the Netherlands. A staggering $50 billion of bitcoin changed hands in the past 24 hours. The World Economic Forum lists cyberattack and data theft in its top 10 risks, between extreme weather events and armed conflict. Sixty per cent of human communication is data-based.
Victoria to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12, youth advocates push for 14 – 21 April 2023
Victoria will raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12, a decision advocates say ignores international best practices and will not improve child welfare. Advocates say the age needs to be raised further to 14 in order to protect children.
Optus lawsuit a ‘wake-up call’ to corporate Australia – 21 April 2023
A class action representing 100,000 people against Optus over a massive data breach has begun. While Optus has said no customers fell victim to financial loss or crime as a result of the hack, the law firm argues privacy is essentially priceless, and “time is money” after people were forced to take multiple steps to protect themselves after their information was stolen.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/crime/optus-sued-by-vulnerable-victims-of-data-breach-c-10410631
