Cyber Crime Busters: Connecticut Law Enforcement Goes Virtual

Cyber Crime Busters
Connecticut Law Enforcement Goes Virtual

06/30/04

"Five years ago, I attended a meeting of all federal agency heads in Connecticut and, without exception, each representative expressed concern about law enforcement's capability to address crimes over the Internet, and their inability to handle the ever-escalating demands of processing seized digital evidence that surfaced in almost every violation confronting law enforcement today. Our local and state partners had echoed the same concerns.

" The Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force is our collective response to those concerns."

So said FBI Special Agent in Charge Mike Wolf, at the ribbon cutting ceremony in New Haven for the opening of the state-of -the-art computer forensic lab yesterday.

What is the "CCCTF"?

It's one of 50 Computer Crimes Task Forces in the United States that band federal, state, and local officers together in common cause against cyber pedophiles, hackers, thieves—the whole range of criminals and terrorists who use computers to plan and commit crimes. It's staffed with Postal Inspectors; IRS, Secret Service, DCIS and FBI agents; reps from the Connecticut State Police and Chief State's Attorney's Office; and detectives from the Glastonbury, Milford, New Haven, New Britain, and Windsor PDs.

CCCTF was created in March 2003 and, bottom line, it has already made a difference in regional cases, including the public corruption conviction of a former state treasurer and resolution for a grieving family in the case of a man who met a child on-line...then later murdered her.

What about that ribbon cutting? What happens in the lab?

Here is where the rubber hits the road. In the words of FBI Cyber executive Keith Lourdeau, it "gives law enforcement the tools and capabilities to meet investigative requirements of today's technology crimes."

In fact, this lab is the second of its kind in the country: a place where participating agencies can deconstruct hardware and software, analyze hard drives and other media, and recover incriminating files for their cases. Where police and agents work "virtually" undercover, side by side, to catch sexual predators operating in chat rooms. Where officers can, in state-of-the-art training labs, become expert with the tools they need to protect the American people.

That's what these task forces and these labs are all about: protecting our children, protecting our pocketbooks, protecting our country and its institutions.