Interpol sharpens skills of Indo-Pacific’s cyber defenders

Tom Abke

Annual losses from cyber attacks in the Indo-Pacific are expected to reach U.S. $1.7 trillion this year, according to a 2018 Microsoft study. This rising menace generates a need for the region’s law enforcement personnel to invest in education, investigation and enforcement capabilities and intelligence sharing. Interpol, through its Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) in Singapore, pictured, is proving to be a valuable resource for meeting these needs.

“Interpol develops and provides specialized training on cyber-related skills to police in all its 194 member-countries, including those in the Indo-Pacific region,” the Interpol secretariat said in a statement to FORUM.These efforts are led by Interpol’s cyber crime unit, which is based at the IGCI in Singapore.

To learn advanced topics such as malware analysis and advanced cyber investigation techniques, law enforcement personnel receive classroom training from Interpol instructors, “as this allows for hands-on teaching and practical exercises simulating real-world scenarios,” the secretariat said.

Interpol deployed a team of cyber investigation instructors to Fiji in 2017 to train police from the Pacific Island nations of Fiji, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu. Law enforcement personnel from the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Tonga are being trained and assessed by Interpol in a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe to strengthen the cyber capacity of 12 priority countries in Africa, the Indo-Pacific and Latin America, known as the Global Action on Cybercrime project.

“The project has provided training for law enforcement and judicial authorities, with Interpol focusing on technical training relating to cyber crime, digital forensics and the darknet,” the statement reported. “Interpol also provides an international cooperation workshop under the umbrella of the project to facilitate the exchange of intelligence and evidence swiftly between countries.”

Online instructors train police on topics such as internet basics, e-mail investigations and open-source intelligence.

“Police can access these learning opportunities through Interpol’s secure global police communications system,” the statement added. “Interpol will continue to update and enhance its online e-learning modules to reflect the evolving cyber threat landscape and equip police with new investigative skill sets.”

Interpol agreed with the Microsoft study that the major cyber threats facing the Indo-Pacific in 2019 include business e-mail fraud, cryptocurrency-related crimes and malware infections. In line with these threats, Interpol will help coordinate joint investigations with member countries and work to raise public awareness of these crimes and how organizations and individuals can best be protected.

Indo-Pacific countries send their top cyber police to participate annually in Interpol’s Eurasian Working Group on Cybercrime, where they are joined by experts from private industry and academia.

“The Working Groups look at best practices in investigations, digital forensics, capability development and operational support,” the Interpol statement said.

Police from member states of the Eurasian cyber working group teamed up to identify nearly 9,000 malware-laden servers and hundreds of compromised websites in an Interpol operation in April 2017, according to Reuters. Francis Chan, then chairman of the group and head of the Hong Kong Police Force’s cyber crime unit, remarked that the operation enabled participants to identify and tackle types of cyber crimes previously unknown in their countries.

Tom Abke is a FORUM contributor reporting from Singapore.