ISPA at P&I Conference – Tackling cyber-crime: creating a more hostile environment for cyber criminals

ISPA is once again present at the Parliament and Internet Conference, taking place on Thursday 27 October in the houses of Parliament and we are running a session at 11.45am at Attlee Suite titled Tackling cyber-crime: creating a more hostile environment for cyber criminals.

As more and more of our everyday lives have moved online, so have criminals. When cybercrime was included in the official Crime Survey statistics for the first time this year, 6 million cyber offences were recorded, whilst the ONS recorded 5.76m  –all while crime more generally is reported to be falling.

In the main, these offences can be split up into cyber-dependent crimes, crimes that can only be committed via the Internet such as malware, and cyber-enabled crimes, crimes that take place both off and online but the threat of prosecution for these crimes is far lower when committed online. The statistics show that the main offences are overwhelmingly cyber enabled and are not new with fraud-type offences the most common (such as online shopping scams, fake ads, phishing and identity theft), however other traditional crimes are being moved into the online sphere too (including stalking, harassment and blackmail).

Tackling these crimes in an effective way poses new challenges to government, law enforcement, the criminal justice system, business and the public. With many constituents falling victim to cybercrime, this panel will focus on how we can create a more hostile environment for cyber criminals, including through what practical measures can be taken to improve awareness, what more can be done by industry and how criminals can be better held to account and prosecuted.

The panel will hear from expert speakers from law enforcement, the internet industry, Parliament and academia and more on this most pressing issue.

We have a few tickets for ISPA Members. If you wish to attend please contact admin@ispa.org.uk for your free ticket.

Panellists:

• Chi Onwurah MP (Chair) 
• Dr Alice Hutchings, University of Cambridge University Computer Laboratory Dr Hutchings is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Cambridge. She is criminologist specialising in cybercrime and her research interests include understanding cybercrime offenders, and the prevention, intervention and disruption of online crime.
• Tom Owen, Head of Security, Memset Thomas has been Head of Security at Memset since 2014 and has led the way in making security a core element of the Memset brand. Thomas balances his experience in risk management, cyber security and security operations with a commitment to privacy.
• Chief Superintendent David Clark, City of London Police David is a Detective Chief Superintendent at the City of London Police and heads up the Economic Crime Directorate.