In Asia, ICHIP Kuala Lumpur focuses primarily on cybercrime in Southeast Asia. ICHIP Hong Kong focuses primarily on IPR crime throughout all of Asia. ICHIP Bangkok is a part-time position filled by the DOJ Attaché for Southeast Asia and focuses primarily on IPR crime.
IPR-Focused ICHIPs
The Hong Kong-based IPR ICHIP supports the capacity building needs in partner nations throughout Asia by assessing the abilities of law enforcement authorities to enforce IPR; developing and conducting skills trainings and case-based mentoring to support the justice sector personnel in enforcing IPR; assisting in developing or strengthening institutions dedicated to IPR enforcement; monitoring regional trends in IPR protection; and providing expert assistance in support of U.S. intellectual property (IP) policies and initiatives in the region.
The IPR ICHIPs also assist foreign partners with legislative drafting, review of proposed legislation, and preparing country submissions for the U.S. Trade Representative’s annual Special 301 Report. They also act as liaisons between U.S. law enforcement partners in the region and rights-holders, whose support is critical for IPR investigations and prosecutions. Since the program’s inception in June 2016, the ICHIPs have designed, organized, and implemented IPR crime mentoring and training events for over 1,000 judges, prosecutors, investigators, customs officers, and administrative enforcement officials.
Cyber-Focused ICHIP
The Kuala Lumpur-based, cyber-focused ICHIP program helps legal and law enforcement partners in Southeast Asia develop an understanding of cybercrime and its technical nature, how to utilize specialized investigative techniques to enhance evidence collection, the basics of digital forensic analysis, and successful prosecutorial strategies. The ICHIP also facilitates regional cooperation, which includes sharing digital evidence. The Kuala Lumpur-based ICHIP mentors foreign partners by highlighting best practices in investigating, prosecuting, and adjudicating cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime. The ICHIP also reviews existing cybercrime legislation and helps draft new legislation that facilitates more effective cybercrime investigations and prosecutions. Of note, the ICHIP program recently initiated the creation of a Cryptocurrency Working Group for prosecutors, investigators, judges, and other justice sector officials in partner nations in Southeast Asia.
Since the launch of this regional program in September 2015, the Kuala Lumpur-based ICHIP program has designed and implemented cases-based mentoring and training programs for over 2,000 judges, prosecutors, investigators, digital forensic analysts, and other government officials.
IPR-Focused ICHIP Recent Activities
- January 2023: ICHIP Hong Kong spoke at an IPR Enforcement conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, hosted by the National IPR Center, on best practices in investigating and prosecuting IP crime cases, the U.S. approach to enforcement, and international cooperation. About 40 members of Indonesia’s IP Task Force attended the meeting, including the General in charge of the task force, and prosecutors, investigators, and regulators from various Indonesian agencies.
- December 2022: ICHIP Hong Kong discussed the role of the ICHIPs and the GLEN during a consultation session with all twelve U.S. Patent and Trademark Office IP Attachés from around the world.
- November 2022: ICHIP Hong Kong presented a case study on the smuggling of counterfeit goods at a conference in Taipei, Taiwan organized by Homeland Security Investigations and Taiwan’s Customs Bureau. About 80 investigators from Asia attended.
- October 2022: ICHIP Hong Kong spoke at an online IP crime seminar organized by the World IP Organization, Japan Patent Office, and the ASEAN Secretariat for about 80 prosecutors, police, and IP officials from seven ASEAN countries.
- September 2022: ICHIP Hong Kong, along with the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, USPTO, and two federal district judges, hosted two workshops on IP crime and electronic evidence for 120 Mongolian judges.
Cyber-Focused ICHIP Recent Activities
- January 2022: ICHIP Kuala Lumpur met with the Royal Malaysian Police’s Forensics Unit to consult on improvements to the unit’s digital forensics lab.
- January 2022: New members of the ICHIP-organized Southeast Asia Cryptocurrency Working Group (SEACWG) participated in a week-long Chainalysis cryptocurrency fundamentals Course.
- December 2022: ICHIP Kuala Lumpur held a one-day workshop for almost 40 cybercrime prosecutors on digital evidence. The event featured a roundtable discussion on challenges facing cybercrime prosecutors as well as presentations on preserving and collecting digital evidence, international cooperation, and presenting and using digital evidence in court, including a practical exercise involving the admission of digital evidence in court.
- December 2022: ICHIP Kuala Lumpur presented on ransomware issues at a UNODC Experts Group meeting on Ransomware in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A total of 25 participants from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Fiji, and Samoa attended the event.
- December 2022: ICHIP Kuala Lumpur met with the Director of the Indonesian National Police’s digital forensics Lab in Yogyakarta. Later that day, the ICHIP attended a judicial conference for Indonesian Supreme Court Judges where he gave a presentation on investigating and prosecuting cryptocurrency-related crime for approximately 35 judges.
- December 2022: ICHIP Kuala Lumpur gave a virtual presentation on prosecuting cases involving digital assets and cryptocurrency at a UNODC conference in Indonesia.
- December 2022: ICHIP Kuala Lumpur and a CCIPS Senior Counsel virtually met with representatives from Malaysia’s National Cyber Security Agency to discuss legislative reform for cybercrime enforcement.