HSI represents US at inaugural International Cybercrime Offender Prevention Conference
LISBON, Portugal – Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) participated in the inaugural International Cybercrime Offender Prevention (InterCOP) Conference on June 14 and 15, 2023, which focused on international cybercrime offender prevention cooperation.
“InterCOP was a great opportunity for us to learn best practices in cyber prevention that are already in use by our British and Dutch colleagues to reach youth at risk of becoming cyber offenders,” said HSI Cyber Crimes Center (C3) Deputy Assistant Director Michael Prado. “The opportunity to learn from our law enforcement partners around the world will help us implement and replicate successes as we develop our own youth cybercrime offender prevention campaign.”
Hosted by the Portuguese Policia Judiciaria, the InterCOP conference brought together 50 delegates from 25 nations, including the United States, to highlight best practices in youth offender prevention to combat the rise in cybercrime. Sessions focused on drivers of and pathways into cybercrime; the use of educational games in preventing cybercrime; and online policing and web patrolling. Conference presenters also shared best practices on the role of social media in cybercrime prevention. Additionally, attendees conducted the first joint cybercrime prevention intervention June 15, observing International Cyber Offender Prevention Day on various social media platforms.
The Cyber Crimes Center was established in 1997 for the purpose of combating crimes committed on, or facilitated by, the internet. C3 brings together highly technical assets dedicated to conducting trans-border criminal investigations of internet-related crimes within the HSI portfolio of immigration and customs authorities. C3 is responsible for identifying and targeting any cybercrime activity in which HSI has jurisdiction.
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.
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