In what is bad news for cyber criminals and online financial hucksters, the U.S. Secret Service has announced a partnership with European law-enforcement agencies to form the first European Electronic Crimes Task Force.
Officials signed a “memorandum of understanding,” with the Secret Service, Italian Police and the Italian Postal Service taking the lead roles. The Task Force will be based in Rome, and the principal Italian officials are Antonio Manganelli, chief of Italian Police, and Massimo Sarmi, chief executive officer of the Italian Postal Service.
The goals are to “provide a forum through which U.S. and European law enforcement agencies, the private sector and academia can collaborate to investigate, suppress and prevent computer- related crimes” and to “share relevant insight, expertise and resources between the international law enforcement community to combat the transnational cyber crimes which threaten the financial security of businesses and individuals worldwide,” the Secret Service said.
“Cybercrime knows no borders,†said Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan. “We believe
that partnerships at the international level are essential in combating the ever-changing
landscape of cybercrimes.â€
The Task Force will combine European and U.S. expertise in investigating network intrusions, hacking cases, identity theft and other computer related crimes affecting financial and other critical infrastructures, the Secret Service said.