After passage by two congressional committees, the Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) to fight the growing concerns of cyber crime, was advanced to the full House last week.
“The threats facing state and local law enforcement are ever changing,” Ratcliffe said. “Cyber criminals use technology to commit crimes of almost any type. Our men and women in law enforcement are working in an extremely challenging environment, and it is imperative that we equip them to address these challenges in an effort to protect the most vulnerable from being exploited.”
The act empowers the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI) to employ the U.S. Secret Service for the training of local and state law enforcement officers, prosecutors and judges in the varied complexities of cyber crime, including performing forensic examinations and how to properly identify network attacks.
Currently, the NCFI trains nearly 4,600 officials from all 50 states, with graduates representing more than 1,500 agencies nationwide.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte encouraged the act’s adoption.
“I am pleased the House Judiciary Committee overwhelmingly approved this bill today and urge the House to take it up immediately,” Goodlatte said.