Courtesy of Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Criminal Division
Originally published on Justice Blogs – October 25, 2016

As computers play an ever-greater role in our lives and cybercrime becomes both more commonplace and more devastating, the need for robust criminal enforcement of effective computer crime laws will only become more important.  As we’ve said in public remarks last year, we urgently need targeted updates to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act that will help the department protect our privacy and security online.  A number of recent prosecutions have demonstrated our commitment and success in bringing significant prosecutions under these vital statutes.  Prosecutors in U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, in conjunction with the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) in Washington, have brought cases against hackers and carders like Roman Seleznev and Marcel Lazar and cyberstalkers and sextortionists like Ryan Vallee and Michael Ford, and have conducted challenging and cutting-edge cybercrime operations, such as the takedown of the Darkode hacking forum last year.

It is, of course, not enough to have effective laws; those laws must also be enforced responsibly and consistently.  Continue reading →