House Judiciary Committee OKs Bill To Help States Fight Cybercrime

The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would authorize the Secret Service to train state and local law enforcement officials on combating cybercrime. The Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act, from Rep John Ratcliffe (R-TX), is an attempt to close the gap between federal and local cybercrime-fighting capabilities. Rep Ratcliffe called his offering a “much-needed bill that will help law enforcement fight back against increasingly sophisticated cyber crimes.” “It is imperative that we equip them to address these challenges in an effort to protect the most vulnerable from being exploited,” added Rep Ratcliffe, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies.

Specifically, the measure would direct the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI) -- part of the Secret Service -- to educate local law officers, prosecutors and judges on all aspects of computer crime, from conducting computer and mobile device examinations to investigating cyberattacks. The NCFI has already trained personnel from more than 500 different law enforcement agencies, but Rep Ratcliffe said his bill would give it the proper oversight and accountability.