AFP launches new cybercrime centre as part of national plan
Australia’s Department of Home Affairs alongside the Australian Federal Police have today launched a new cybercrime centre as part of their ‘national plan’ to combat cyber-crime. The $89 million centre, titled Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre (JPC3), aims to ensure that adequate intelligence resources are used to build a strong response to online crimes.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said the pandemic has highlighted the need to crackdown on cyber-crime, which she said was one of the “fastest-growing” and most prolific types of crime in the country.
Cybercrime is a growing concern and has worsened since the beginning of the pandemic.
“The tools and the techniques used to rob or extort Australians became more effective and more freely available than ever before,” the minister said. In the past financial year, ReportCyber received 65,700 complaints from victims of cyber crime – up 13 per cent on the previous year.
The $89 million centre, titled Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre (JPC3), aims to ensure that adequate intelligence resources are used to build a strong response to online crimes.
In 2019, Australians lost $3.5 billion to cyber crime – but this could be an underestimate as many people don’t report their losses. The national plan also aims to establish a cyber-crime forum that brings together representatives of state and federal governments and regulators such as the Office of the eSafety Commissioner to develop a national cyber-crime action plan.
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