Speaking at the AusCERT 2011 conference on the Gold Coast, Brian Hay said cybercrime is the biggest challenge that the policing community is facing because of its position in relation to the sector.

"Police are not at the cold face of the problem; the security industry is much more familiar with these problems," he said.

"Industry is at the cutting edge, police do not source their information from the cold face. Often the information they get will be after the event."

Hay said a lack of communication and collaboration between policing entities is hindering the fight against cybercrime, with a lack of crimes being reported to members of police.

"Why is it that cybercrimes are not reported to police?" he said.