Federal Agency Analysis

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The preceding section describing the manner in which federal agencies are organized to combat computer crime discussed each agency in separate terms and characterized the strategies of any single agency as independent and separate from those of the other agencies involved in the fight against computer crime. The attempt to classify these agencies in independent fashion is intended not only to help the reader understand the different roles of each federal agency discussed, but may be viewed as an indication of the historically “piecemeal” nature of law enforcement actions at the federal level. Fed- eral law enforcement agencies have a long history of failing to coordinate and cooperate not only in the relatively recent fight against computer …show more content…

The recently established DHS is the result of these efforts.37 DHS has a wide range of organizational components and has subsumed a number of previously discussed federal agencies under the DHS umbrella, including the Direc- torate for National Protection and Programs, Directorate for Science and Technology, Directorate for Management, Office of Policy, Office of Health Affairs, Office of Intel- ligence and Analysis, Office of Operations Coordination, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, National Cyber Security Center, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Customs and Border Protection, Citi- zenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Secret Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Coast Guard.38 The agency now employs over 200,000 federal employees who have been transferred or subsumed from other federal agencies.39 The National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) of DHS is of significant impor- tance in the fight against computer …show more content…

Specifically, the NCSD has a twofold task: (1) to build and main- tain an effective national cyberspace response system and (2) to implement a cyber risk management program to protect critical infrastructure.40 There are several programs in place to aid in the achievement of these two tasks, including the National Cyber Alert System, which offers a free subscription service to security alerts and tips to better protect systems and infrastructure. This system also allows individuals to report threats and incidents directly to DHS.41 The Cyber Cop Portal program is also run through NCSD, which provides a Web-based resource for information sharing and collaboration between law enforcement agencies around the world. There are over 5,300 investigators who use this tool as a means to help capture computer criminals. The NCSD also manages the National Vulnerability Database, which acts as a clearinghouse for information on software and hardware