Background
The U.S. Transnational and High-Tech Crime Global Law Enforcement Network (GLEN) program is the result of a partnership between the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (DOS/INL) and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (DOJ/CCIPS) and Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (DOJ/OPDAT).
The GLEN is a worldwide law enforcement capacity-building network of International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) attorney advisors, computer forensic analysts (Global Cyber Forensics Advisors or GCFAs), and federal law enforcement agents who deliver training and technical assistance to foreign law enforcement, prosecutorial, and judicial partners to combat intellectual property offenses and cybercrime activity, as well as to assist in the collection and use of electronic evidence to combat all types of crime, including transnational organized crime (TOC).
Currently, ICHIPs are posted to regional positions in Africa (Abuja, Nigeria and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), Asia (Hong Kong S.A.R.; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Bangkok, Thailand (part-time DOJ/OIA Attaché focused on intellectual property rights)), Europe (Bucharest, Romania; Zagreb, Croatia; and The Hague, Netherlands), and Western Hemisphere (São Paulo, Brazil and Panama City, Panama). Two subject-matter expert ICHIPs – the ICHIP for Internet Fraud and Public Health (IFPH) and the ICHIP for Dark Web and Cryptocurrency (DWC) – as well as DOJ computer forensic analysts and law enforcement officials with intellectual property and cybercrime expertise also form part of the GLEN.
The objective of the GLEN is to promote the rule of law and to protect Americans from criminal threats emanating from abroad by delivering targeted training to encourage both immediate improvements as well as long-term institutional change. This assistance includes training workshops, legislative review, case-based mentoring, skills development, and promoting institutional reform such as the formation of specialized units to address these criminal threats. Finally, the ICHIPs encourage countries to join the Council of Europe’s Convention against Cybercrime (Budapest Convention) as well as the G7 24-7 High Tech Crimes Digital Evidence Sharing Network (HTCN), an informal network that provides high-tech expert contacts to assist in preserving and sharing digital evidence.
Notable Successes
- In August 2021, ICHIP Addis Ababa initiated a series of cryptocurrency webinars for officials from countries in Anglophone Africa, including Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana. In September, the ICHIP will deliver a French-language cryptocurrency webinar for officials from Niger.
- In August 2021, ICHIP Hong Kong presented at a USPTO-sponsored virtual panel entitled, “Investigation and Prosecution of Criminal Trade Secret Theft: Case Studies.”
- In June 2021, ICHIP Addis Ababa-mentored investigators from the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in Mauritius recovered electronic evidence in a major corruption scandal involving a power generation project that has already resulted in the firing of the deputy prime minister.
- In June 2021, ICHIP Zagreb hosted the inaugural meeting of the Eastern Europe cryptocurrency working group for 23 investigators and prosecutors from Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, and Romania.
- In March 2021, ICHIP Panama City held the first ever webinar on best practices in the investigation of cryptocurrency kiosks for Panamanian police and prosecutors with both U.S. government and private industry partners.
- In January 2021, ICHIP Kuala Lumpur inaugurated the first Cryptocurrency Working Group for Southeast Asian partner nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, supported by the ICHIP DWC.
- In 2021, ICHIP Kuala Lumpur has reviewed proposed amendments to existing cybercrime legislation, assisted with mutual legal assistance requests for digital evidence, and helped regional governments join the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime and the G7 24-7 HTCN.
COVID-19 Related Activities
- From mid-April 2020 to August 2021, ICHIPs have conducted a total of 89 major webinars on COVID-19 crime: 38 in Africa; 22 in Asia; 11 in Europe; and 18 in the Western Hemisphere. Over 3,100 people from 75 different countries participated in these virtual programs.
- In July 2021, ICHIP Sao Paulo and ICHIP IFPH, along with Homeland Security Investigations, hosted a virtual industry panel on COVID-19 related frauds for approximately 45 Brazilian civil and federal police officers. The panel included security officials from three major vaccine manufacturers and discussed the threat landscape regarding counterfeit vaccines and frauds in Latin America and throughout the world. Industry partners reflected that open lines of communication between industry, government, and the public were key to identifying these offenses.
- In June 2021, ICHIP Addis Ababa presented on Investigating Online COVID-19 Fraud in collaboration with the Acting Director of the Independent Commission Against Corruption in Mauritius.
- Since 2020, ICHIP Abuja played an integral role in creation and distribution of the U.S. Mission Nigeria-produced movie titled Fishbone, which centers on counterfeit medicine.
- In September 2020, ICHIP Bucharest conducted a webinar with the National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets and Homeland Security Investigations on COVID-19 frauds and financial tracking to investigate and prosecute transnational organized crime.
- In August and September 2020, the ICHIP DWC, in conjunction with the regional ICHIPs, conducted webinars on both the dark web and cryptocurrency for prosecutors and police in Asia, Africa, and Europe. The former were focused on how the dark web operates, practical tools law enforcement can use to investigate dark web vendors and administrators, and current COVID-19 related crimes being committed on dark web marketplaces. The latter introduced cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, including techniques for investigating crypto-enabled crime.
- In August 2020, ICHIP Hong Kong continued co-hosting a series of webinars with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat focused on COVID-19 related crimes, particularly those involving online platforms, and how best to investigate and prosecute them.
- In July and August 2020, the ICHIP IFPH, working with each of the regional ICHIPs, conducted webinars for foreign prosecutors and law enforcement on how to take down fraudulent websites related to COVID-19 scams.
Looking Forward
This innovative and high-profile assistance program continues to grow and deepen its connection with partner nations. In FY21 alone, the ICHIPs have delivered more than 230 assistance programs on various topics including cybercrime, cryptocurrency, COVID-19-related counterfeiting, and ransomware to 120 countries for more than 9,700 individuals; they have also reviewed more than ten pieces of legislation, provided case-based mentoring on 36 cases, and have seen ICHIP-mentored law enforcement officials conduct more than 70 seizures, totaling 354 tons of counterfeit items worth approximately $192 million USD.
The GLEN will continue to support the U.S. Government and the U.S. Department of Justice’s topline priorities of fighting cybercrime and protecting intellectual property rights. The program has recently received additional funding to place an ICHIP in South Asia, with a potential location at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India.