This article describes the structure and work of the New York Electronic Crimes Task Force (NYECTF).
The NYECTF was formed in January 1995 as an outgrowth of a small squad of Secret Service agents involved primarily with the investigation of telecommunications fraud. Becoming a task force facilitates the formation of partnerships with other entities, which currently include 25 law enforcement/criminal justice agencies, 45 private companies, and 3 universities. The task force will help any agency that requests its assistance. Each case is headed by a group supervisor, and whoever brings in the case keeps the case, with additional support and resources from other member entities. The task force gives priority to the top six infrastructure targets for electronic crime or cyber terrorism: financial institutions, telecommunications, the energy industry, transportation, the environment, and emergency services. The task force's proactive prevention activities include the education of private industry about "cyber" threats. NYECTF also cooperates with universities in providing an internship program that has graduates with computer-related degrees. The task force also provides technical assistance to jurisdictions that wish to form similar task forces.