CybersecurityFBI moves cyberthreats to top of law-enforcement agenda

Published 16 December 2014

FBI director James Comey said combatting cybercrime and other cyber threats are now top FBI priority. “It (the Internet) is transforming human relationships in ways we’ve never seen in human history before,” Comey said. “I see a whole lot of hacktivists, I see a whole lot of international criminal gangs, very sophisticated thieves,” he added. “I see people hurting kids, tons of pedophiles, an explosion of child pornography.” In October Comey urged Congress to require tech companies to put “backdoors” in apps and operating systems. Such a move would allow law enforcement officials to better to monitor suspected criminals who often escape the law using encryption and anti-surveillance computer software.

Since he took office fifteen months ago, FBI director James Comey pledged to visit each of the FBI’s fifty-six field offices by the end of 2014. Last Friday, Comet visited regional office number fifty-six on his list when he met with law enforcement officials in Honolulu. In addition to introducing Paul Delacourt as the new special agent in charge of the FBI’s Honolulu Division, Comey stressed the increasing importance of information technology in law enforcement.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that that the FBI has recently expanded its cybercrime team, hired 100 new computer scientists, brought in faster Internet access to its offices, and invested in better equipment to track the growing number of hackers and cybercriminals targeting U.S. businesses and citizens. “It (the Internet) is transforming human relationships in ways we’ve never seen in human history before,” Comey said. “I see a whole lot of hacktivists, I see a whole lot of international criminal gangs, very sophisticated thieves,” he added. “I see people hurting kids, tons of pedophiles, an explosion of child pornography.”

In an October speech at the Brookings Institution, Comey urged Congress to require tech companies to put “backdoors” in apps and operating systems (see “FBI wants Congress to mandate backdoors in tech devices to facilitate surveillance,” HSNW, 20 October 2014; and “Head of U.K. surveillance agency: U.S. tech companies have become terrorists’ ‘networks of choice’,” HSNW, 5 November 2014). Such a move would allow law enforcement officials better to monitor suspected criminals who often escape the law using encryption and anti-surveillance computer software.

We call it ‘going dark,’ and what it means is this: Those charged with protecting our people aren’t always able to access the evidence that we need to prosecute crime and prevent terrorism even with lawful authority,” Comey said in October.

Lawmakers, however, are hesitant to support legislation which could be viewed as invasion of privacy but they have provided the FBI with the resources needed to deal with cybercrime within the boundaries of current law. “Congress has given us the resources (to fight cybercrime), because Congress sees the threat,” Comey said.

In a recent case of foreign hackers targeting U.S. companies, the FBI issued a warning to some U.S. businesses regarding Iranian hackers whose targets include defense contractors, energy firms, and educational institutions. The operation, named Operation Cleaver, was identified last week by cybersecurity firm Cylance Inc., and has affected more than fifty critical infrastructure firms operating in sixteen countries (see “Coordinated cyberattacks by Iran-based hackers on global critical infrastructure,” HSNW, 9 December 2014). According to the FBI’s warning document, the attacks are typically launched from two Iranian IP addresses, but the FBI did not attribute the attacks to the Iranian government.