|
Information sharing and collaboration among law enforcement and private industry is vital in tracking and analyzing cyber crime. Thus, certain individuals at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Carnegie Mellon University’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), West Virginia University, and a variety of private institutions worked to break the barriers placed between government, academics, and private industry and form an alliance among them.
An earlier “test” project of the FBI set the stage for such a partnership. Before the NCFTA was formed, the FBI agreed to place one agent at CERT for one year. This co-location of resources granted law enforcement access to Subject Matter Experts (SME’s), as well as to a plethora of substantial information and resources. Along the way, critical areas such as intelligence development and analytical capabilities were expanded, and effective partnerships and “trusted relationships” emerged. As such, communication was at its peak.
The acknowledgement of this project evolved and cultivated the idea that an organization devoted to building such relationships might actually be feasible. As recognition turned into realization, a proposal was presented to a group of approximately fifty law enforcement (Federal, State, and Local), Industry (technology, finance, and telecommunications,) and academia representatives as to how an effective relationship would be defined and what Return on Investments (ROIs) each organization would require in order to contribute to such an endeavor.
A list of requirements was presented to both the Department of Justice (DoJ) and to a private law firm specializing in Intellectual Property issues in order to gain advice on physical and legal structures, as well as to understand how the FBI could be factored in. It was concluded that the establishment of a neutral, non-profit organization would be advantageous in the fight on cyber crime and that such an institution would provide an essential “middle ground” for communication, collaboration, coordination/de-confliction, and training among members. Thus, the NCFTA, supported and developed by public and private partners, was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 2002.
Over past several years, NCFTA has developed and promoted initiatives that focus on a variety of cyber related crimes and issues. Through in-house relationships with the FBI and the United States Postal Inspection Service, as well as through the cooperation of numerous academic and private institutions, significant strides have been made in establishing such an environment as imperative to success.
|
|
