AGC Establishes Cybercrime Focus Group to Forge Closer Cooperation to Combat Cybercrime
The Attorney General's Chambers has established a Cybercrime Focus Group consisting of prosecutors under the Criminal Justice Division who have all undergone training locally and abroad on cybercrime and cybersecurity related matters with the aim of forging closer cooperation with other authorities in Brunei Darussalam to ensure that Brunei Darussalam is protected from the threats emanating from cybercrime. This includes key areas such as legal framework, investigative procedure as well as preventative measures.
This was the message put forward by Deputy Public Prosecutor Karen Tan in her opening remarks at a briefing conducted to officers of the Royal Brunei Police Force at the AGC's Cybercrime Focus Group's first introductory briefing, held at the New Royal Brunei Police Force Headquarters . DPP Karen elaborated that the Attorney General's Chambers' Cybercrime Focus Group which was established on 3rd August 2015 functions not only to work in consultation with the relevant agencies in ensuring Brunei Darussalam has the appropriate laws in place to tackle the various forms of cybercrime but also to be the focal point for all legal enquiries from Law Enforcement Agencies concerning investigations into cybercrime related matters. This is in line with the Attorney General's Chambers "Open Door" Policy to investigators with regards advice on specialized crimes.
The briefing was followed by the Keynote presentation by Deputy Public Prosecutor Sharon Yeo who spoke about the handling of digital evidence in cybercrime cases. In her presentation, DPP Sharon shared the best practices in evidence collection learnt from her participation in the Cybercrime Training Programme conducted by the Singapore Police Force, United States of America Department of Justice and INTERPOL under the Singapore-United States Third Country Training Programme, as well as emphasised the importance of using formal and informal channels of communication to obtain evidence through international cooperation. The briefing that was also attended by officers from the Attorney General's Chambers concluded with a question and answer session with the panel.
The briefing marks the initiation of the AGC Cybercrime Focus Group's efforts in enhancing stronger domestic cooperation with other partner stakeholders in addressing cybercrime related issues in Brunei Darussalam.
