FBI to Crack Down on Cyber Crime

FBI to Crack Down on Cyber Crime

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation will aggressively crack down on cyber crime over the next few weeks, with a bureau official advising the public to anticipate indictments, searches, and multiple arrests.

8755916_m featureThere is a philosophy change. If you are going to attack Americans, we are going to hold you accountable, If we can reach out and touch you, we are going to reach out and touch you.” This according to Robert Anderson Jr., recently appointed by FBI director James Comey as executive assistant director of cyber enforcement at the bureau.

In explaining recent examples of the bureau’s cyber enforcement, Anderson mentioned the case of Dmitry Belorossov, a Russian hacker accused of operating a botnet that targeted an estimated 7,000 Americans. Belorossov was arrested at a Spanish airport and, after an extradition battle between the US and Russia, ordered to stand trial in the US.

Anderson warned that the bureau will not hesitate to charge foreign suspects accused of committing crimes in countries that refuse to extradite to the US. The FBI has traditionally been reluctant to do so, he said, to avoid embarrassment to other nations.

There’s a lot of countries that will not extradite,” he told Reuters. “That will not stop us from pressing forward and charging those individuals and making it public.”

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

The new, aggressive policy is likely to lead to a slew of new arrests, Anderson continued, adding that Belorossov would be a relatively minor target compared to some of the suspects the FBI is currently investigating.

Other hackers could benefit from bureau leniency if they choose to cooperate. Hector Monsegur – founder of the Lulzsec hacker group perhaps better known as Sabu – has seen his sentencing hearing delayed multiple times in exchange for helping the government infiltrate high-value foreign targets.

Anderson refused to say how many former suspects are now on the FBI’s payroll, but Jim Lewis, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told journalists that the agency relies on more outside help than ever before, with perhaps as many as a dozen hackers.

Source: RT