FBI Embedding Cyber Investigators Abroad

This was written by Michael W. Cheek on Friday, March 5, 2010, 12:39.

In the growing battle against cyber crime, the FBI is seeking to broaden its reach by embedding cyber investigators in foreign countries. Currently, the FBI has embedded investigators with law enforcement agencies in the Ukraine, the Netherlands and Estonia, according to an article in PCWorld.

Earlier this week, Howard Schmidt, serving as cybersecurity coordinator at the White House, told attendees at the RSA Conference that partnerships are key to cybersecurity. International cooperation is key to combating transnational issues like cyber crime, since often the perpetrators and victims are not in the same country.

According to Jeffrey Troy, chief of the FBI’s Cyber Division, the FBI decided to begin embedded cyber investigators following a successful operation in Romania in 2006. “We looked at that and said, ‘Where else can we do this,” he said.

The FBI commonly embeds agents with foreign law enforcement and intelligence agencies in order to increase cooperation in dealing with transnational threats. “This is not a new model, but it’s certainly new to cyber,” Troy said.