FBI and NYPD joint effort in a new cybercrime task force

The FBI has formed a new cybercrime task force with the NYPD and the Metropolitan Transit Authority to investigate on cyber crimes.

Cybercrime is considered by governments an emergency to mitigate urgently, criminal activities are causing large losses to the global economy as reported in the recent report published by McAfee.

The FBI created a new task force with the New York Police Department and the Metropolitan Transit Authority to respond to the cybercrime. The new cybercrime task force will be engaged in the fight of  high-level financial cyber crimes through an active collaboration with federal law enforcement agencies of other countries.

The new task force will work out of the FBI’s New York field office and will focus on crimes in the New York area,

Financial motivated crimes represent the most common and insidious category of cyber crimes, the 2013 was characterized by an impressive number of data breaches which targeted businesses and commercial activities, retailers were the entities that most of all suffered the pressure of the cybercrime.

The cybercrime task force will investigate a wide range of financial crime, from credit card theft and fraud to cyber attacks on payment processors and trading platforms.

The recent operation against the criminal gang behind the Zeus Gameover  demonstrated the efficiency of a global effort in the contrast of illegal activities on a global scale.

The FBI, along with the Secret Service, has been at the forefront of combating cybercrime since the beginning and have had their hands full, and the new task force will give them some help and spread the FBI’s resources to other agencies.

 “The task force model that has been successfully employed in response to bank robbery and terrorism cases is now being applied to the cyber realm. The FBI continues to develop positive working relationships with our fellow law enforcement officers in our joint efforts to tackle criminal activity, and we look forward to working with our partners at the NYPD and MTA to combat cyber crime,” said FBI Assistant Director George Venizelos.

The new cybercrime task force will continue to work with Secret Services and will actively collaborate with security teams of private companies coordinating the information sharing on incidents and cyber threats.

“Cyber crime knows no geographical boundaries and expands the exposure to victims literally throughout the world. This task force extends the reach of law enforcement to help identify, pursue, and prosecute those who commit cybercrime wherever they may be. The NYPD is proud to be part of this collaboration with local, federal, and international agencies, which will help combat this threat by using modern day technology,” NYPD Police Commissioner William J Bratton said.

The fight to the cybercrime needs a multinational effort, it is a war without boundaries in which cyber criminal gangs are conducting even more sophisticated operation that must be contrasted with strong, early action.

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs –  cybercrime task force, FBI)