At the end of May, President Barack Obama announced the creation of a new office in the White House that will be led by the Cyber Security Coordinator, or “cyber czar,” to ensure that the nation’s computer networks are safe and protected against a cyber attack. The President noted that with today’s new technological advances, combined with the broad reach of the internet, criminals can gain access to a variety of government, corporate, and even personal information (New York Times, Obama Outlines Coordinated Cyber-Security Plan, May 29, 2009).
Since taking office in January 2007, Attorney General Coakley has made prevention and prosecution of cyber crime a priority of her administration. She established a dedicated Cyber Crime Division and her own "cyber czar" when she created the position of Cyber Crime Division Chief, within the office’s Criminal Bureau. In late 2007, AG Coakley unveiled The Massachusetts Strategic Plan for Cyber Crime, designed to help the Commonwealth develop a statewide capacity to prevent, investigate, and prosecute crimes with a cyber component. The plan calls for law enforcement training, enhanced information sharing, the development of common operating procedures and standards, funding for cyber crime programs, and amending current law as it pertains to cyber crime. In the past two and a half years, the AGO has provided cyber training for over 7,000 state and local law enforcement personnel from across the Commonwealth. Past training sessions have focused on such topics as investigating involving identity theft, conducting investigations involving cell phones and other mobile devices, and preparing "first responders" — those arriving first at a crime scene — on how to gather and secure evidence for investigations with a cyber crime component.
Attorney General Martha Coakley has also partnered with Suffolk University to produce a cable television show entitled, AGTV – On the Record with Martha Coakley. The first episode of AGTV focuses on cyber security, and specifically the different types of online and email fraud the public may encounter. The first episode of the show can be viewed on the Attorney General’s website.
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