Assistant Director, Cybercrime Threat Response & Cybercrime Operations
INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation __ Singapore
With over three decades of criminal investigations experience at state, national, and international levels, Doug Witschi’s has expertise which spans cybercrime; counterterrorism; specialist investigations, including homicide and task force policing; and senior leadership roles taking responsibility for large organisational change programs, transnational criminal and intelligence investigations, and covert policing operations.
Seconded by Australia to INTERPOL Global Centre for Innovation in Singapore in August 2018, Doug was tasked to establish the Cybercrime Treat Response capability in INTERPOL. Facing the global challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, he led his team in responding to issues of ransomware attacks against hospitals and critical infrastructure across many countries around the world, and to targeted cyber scammers and cybercriminals that were using COVID-19 as a lure. Together they developed response and disruption strategies to mitigate the global threats being faced by many of the communities around the world.
In June 2020, Doug was tasked to reinvigorate INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Operations capability. He spends his time building productive and enduring relationships with member countries, private public partners, and other key stakeholders in the fight against cybercrime.
He espouses and practises: “Together we can make a difference”.
Together we can make a difference
The presentation will focus on the drivers for change globally that we need to make to mitigate the most significant global threat that we are facing. Cybercrime is the most illicit criminal activity globally, that is impacting on all facets of life.
I will discuss the observations INTERPOL made during the COVID-19 pandemic, a point in time that created a ‘perfect storm’ for cybercriminals to exploit the situation. I will explore the drivers of cybercrime and the protections that are inadvertently provided, and what countries and organisations need to do to fight back against this threat.
