Former Toowoomba cop Michael Newman receives Winston Churchill Fellowship to combat cybercrime

A former Toowoomba detective has been selected to travel across the world to tackle a concerning form of crime which has cost Australians more than $400m this year alone.

The fight against cybercrime has never been greater with Australians losing more than $400m to the issue this year, but former Toowoomba police officer Michael Newman is working to combat the issue.

Named one of the 2023 Churchill Fellowship recipients, Detective Inspector Newman will travel across the globe to see how international policing agencies, organisations and industry experts prevent, detect and investigate cybercrime.

Former Toowoomba detective Michael Newman has been selected by the Winston Churchill Trust for a fellowship in a bid to help combat cybercrime and online scams.

The fellowship will help facilitate this research in the United Kingdom, United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and parts of Europe.

Currently employed as the state’s intelligence operations manager, Inspector Newman has more than 30 years’ experience with QPS and said he hoped the research would help protect Australians from being targeted by cyber criminals in future.

“I now have the opportunity to talk with policing agencies worldwide about their responses to cybercrime and the networks that support them,” he said.

“By combining our police experience with the use of valid scientific methods, we can foster innovation and professionalism in policing.”

Former Toowoomba detective Michael Newman has been selected by the Winston Churchill Trust for a fellowship in a bid to help combat cybercrime and online scams.

According to the the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission tens of thousands of Australians are impacted by cybercrime each year through investment and relationship scams, computer hacking and identity theft among other ways.

Inspector Newman was one of 104 Australians and 16 Queenslanders to be named a Churchill Fellow this year and was selected by the Winston Churchill Trust.

The fellowship is designed to provide Australians with the opportunity to increase knowledge and find solutions for issues the country is facing today.

Originally published as Former Toowoomba cop Michael Newman receives Winston Churchill Fellowship to combat cybercrime