The role of federal agencies in fighting digital crime - Essay Example

The Role of Federal Agencies in Fighting Digital Crime Affiliation) Introduction: With the increase in the use of internet and technology, digital crime has also simultaneously increased and is growing at a very fast rate. All the illegal acts like stealing information of something that is restricted for you or using services online without paying the owner, comes under the category of digital crime. Due to these illegal acts digital rights are used to stop these kinds of activities. Role of federal agencies in fighting digital crime:The law enforcement agencies and the federal agencies are facing new challenges due to the increase in the use of technology by criminals and terrorists.

These agencies have to be up to date about all the digital networking so that they can help protect the common people, businesses and governments from getting cheated or played by digital criminals. They know that it is the requirement to keep their strategies in dealing with this threat more innovative so that this problem can be handled appropriately.Mostly the security agencies that work under the government are more influential in countering digital crimes because they have more financial support and thus are more technologically advanced.

Political assistance also plays a vital role in increasing their significance. High priority is given to prevent digital crime and efforts are being made to spot crimes before they occur. There are various agencies that are working to prevent this problem. One of these agencies is the Secret Service. This agency is responsible for the prevention of three digital crimes, which are financial institutional frauds that include savings, loans and banks, the access devised frauds that include credit cards, personal identification numbers and passwords, and last but not the least digital crimes conducted on the national level.

Another agency that works to prevent digital crime is the Department of Justice. This department takes care of the investigations related to computer hacking, electronic privacy laws and various other digital crimes. It basically takes care of all the legal implications of digital crimes. The department of Homeland Security agency is the combination of two agencies: U.S Customs Service and Immigration and naturalization, and the digital crime that is investigated here with highest level of priority is the child exploitation case (Wiles, 2007, p.90).Federal Bureau of Investigation is one of the largest criminal investigating agencies in the United States and in digital crimes it handles the hacking, fraud via the internet, sending of illegal material across the state borders etc.

It works with the Department of Justice to protect the computer systems that belong to the government against extremists and terrorists. “The FBI’s InfraGard program, initiated in 1996, is a nationwide secret surveillance and investigation of online hackers and computer crimes” (Shahidullah, 2008, p.245). National Security Agency is another one of the agencies that are in charge of the computerized coding system. They design as well as maintain this whole system and protect the information about the United States.

It has the highest number of highly trained professionals. References:Shahidullah, S. M. (2008). Crime policy in America: Laws, institutions, and programs. Lanham: University Press of America.Wiles, J. (2007). Techno securitys guide to e-discovery and digital forensics. Burlington, MA: Syngress Pub.