As the original guardian of the nation's financial payment systems, the United States Secret Service has a long history of protecting American consumers and industry from financial fraud. In recent years, the combination of the information revolution, the effects of globalization and the rise of international crime have caused the investigative mission of the Secret Service to evolve dramatically. Today, our dual missions of investigations and protection have become fully interdependent and inseparable.

As a part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Secret Service continues its historic investigative mission to prevent financial, identity and electronic crimes. The Secret Service prides itself on a preventive philosophy, which fully involves our partners in the private sector and academia, as well as our colleagues at all levels of law enforcement in combating a myriad of financial and electronic crimes.

Central to our efforts in this arena is the Electronic Crimes Special Agent Program (ECSAP), a program comprised of Secret Service agents trained and equipped to investigate electronic crimes. A curriculum was established in which special agents could receive basic and advanced computer training to help augment the agency's expanded investigative mission. Special agents entering the program receive advanced training in all areas of electronic crimes, with particular emphasis on computer intrusions and digital forensics.

The Electronic Crimes Special Agent Program coordinates all Secret Service computer forensic analysis, shares developed electronic technological principles and procedures, and also manages the establishment and operation of all Secret Service computer forensic laboratories. ECSAP responsibilities include liaison with industry representatives and providing expert testimony in the field of forensic and computer network exploitation. The mission of the program includes the research and development of emerging technologies for future implementation by field agents and forensic oversight of all telecommunications and computer fraud cases. As the Secret Service investigative mission has become increasingly computer-based, ECSAP agents have become involved in nearly every Secret Service criminal investigation.

A final step in the integration of ECSAP has been their recent involvement in various protective missions of the Secret Service. ECSAP agents help protect components of critical infrastructures by incorporating their substantive insights regarding potential vulnerabilities into security plans. The ECSAP program has thus become an integral part of our protective mission.

Local, state, federal and foreign law enforcement agencies request assistance from ECSAP agents on an increasing basis. By having these highly trained personnel positioned throughout the country and overseas, the Secret Service is able to react immediately and serve as the first responders for a critical cyber-related attack. From this cooperative work, ECSAP agents assist in local high-tech criminal investigations, and the Secret Service realizes the ancillary benefit of further enhancing ties with local, state, federal and foreign law enforcement partners.

In the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, Congress directed the Secret Service to develop a nationwide network of Electronic Crimes Task Forces (ECTF) based on the successful New York Electronic Crimes Task Force model. To date, there are 24 ECTFs located across the United States. The ECTF concept is unique in that it brings together not only federal, state and local law enforcement but also prosecutors, private industry and academia. Their common purpose is the prevention, detection, mitigation and aggressive investigation of attacks on the nation's financial and critical infrastructures. Eighty-five percent of critical infrastructure in the United States is operated by private industry, the partnerships formed between law enforcement and the private sector are of the utmost importance.

There is no shortage of information, testimony or anecdotal evidence regarding the nature and variety of cyber-based threats to the nation's critical infrastructures and the need to create effective solutions. There is, however, a scarcity of information regarding successful models to combat such crime in today's high tech environment. That is where the Secret Service makes a significant contribution to current and future discussions of successful law enforcement efforts to combat cyber crime, which play an important role in critical infrastructure protection.

The Secret Service has developed a highly effective formula for combating high-tech crime. While the Secret Service leads this innovative effort, it does not control the participants and the investigative agenda of the ECTFs. Rather, each task force provides a productive framework and collaborative crime-fighting environment in which the resources of its participants are combined to make a significant impact on electronic crimes. Other law enforcement agencies bring additional criminal enforcement jurisdiction and resources to the task force while representatives from private industry, such as telecommunications providers, bring a wealth of technical expertise.

The first task force was established in 1995 in New York and has grown to include federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as prosecutors, academic leaders and more than 100 private sector corporations. In task force investigations, local law enforcement officers hold supervisory positions and representatives from other organizations regularly assume the role of lead investigator. These investigations encompass a wide range of computer-based criminal activity involving e-commerce frauds, intellectual property violations, telecommunications fraud and computer intrusion crimes, which affect a variety of infrastructures.

ECTFs are currently established in the following 24 locations: Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbia, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Miami, Minneapolis, New York/Newark, Oklahoma City/Tulsa, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C. Each of these task forces specializes in an area of concentration and expertise to include banking and finance, academia, financial markets, casino-based operations, and the high-tech industry, just to name a few.

In addition to their involvement within ECTFs, ECSAP agents are deployed in many other areas, both in the United States and around the world, where they not only establish new relationships with private industry, but also begin the process of tailoring the Electronic Crime Task Force model to fit a specific region's needs.

Given the relationship between computer-based crimes and national security issues, the Secret Service recognizes that its role in investigating and helping to prevent computer-based attacks against the financial sector can be significant in the larger plan for the protection of the nation's critical infrastructures. When a criminal has breached and disrupted a sensitive communications network such as a financial institution, the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners work to restore normal operations. In successfully doing so, the Secret Service and its partners make a significant contribution towards assuring the reliability of the critical systems the public relies upon on a daily basis. Success is also achieved when a potentially devastating incident is prevented as a result of proactive involvement, participation, or sharing of information.

Over the past 20 years, networked computer technology and the Internet have become integrated into the fabric of global society. Nearly all aspects of everyday life are affected by these networks. A well-placed cyber attack against a weak technology or support infrastructure can render an otherwise sound physical security plan vulnerable and inadequate.

The Electronic Crimes Special Agent Program and the Electronic Crimes Task Force network have been recognized as established programs that are focused on preventing, detecting, mitigating and investigating cyber attacks against the critical infrastructure of the United States. The Secret Service is committed to following the direction of Congress, as well as the goals set forth by the Department of Homeland Security, in attempting to enhance and expand programs designed to protect and defend America's critical infrastructure.

For more information, please visit www.secretservice.gov