Nevada Cyber Crime Task Force goes on line with forensics lab

Jace Radke

Thursday, Dec. 6, 2001 | 9:41 a.m.

The Nevada Cyber Crime Task Force takes another step in its battle to stop computer crime today with the opening of a new forensics laboratory designed to pick up electric footprints left by hackers, pirates and cyber criminals.

The new lab in the Department of Energy complex at 232 Energy Way in North Las Vegas is the multi-agency task force's first true base of operations since it was created by an act of the 1999 Legislature to investigate the growing number of computer-related crimes.

Metro Police financial crimes unit Lt. Steve Franks said the lab and office will be an area where information can be shared between the various federal and local law enforcement agencies that comprise the task force.

"We started getting overwhelmed with computer-related crimes, so we went to the Secret Service and the FBI, and soon they were swamped," Franks said. "The task force and this building allows us to pool all our resources, and gets all our equipment and experts on the same page."

Along with Metro, the FBI and the Secret Service, the task force also includes members of the Nevada Department of Investigation, DOE, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Postal Inspectors, Clark County School District Police and the Attorney General's office.

The task force is charged with investigating and arresting those who use computer technology to steal money, commit fraud, invade private records, conduct industrial espionage or engage in information warfare.

The task force uses special tools, such as encase -- a computer program that unlocks deleted and hidden files from computer hard drives -- to find clues cyber criminals have left behind, FBI special agent Alan Peters said.

"It really is a forensic examination, and we have to be able to find evidence that may be locked in a hard drive," Peters said. "By having the technology and investigators here we can assist areas like Ely, Mesquite or Pahrump that may not have the equipment or expertise in this area."

The new facility includes an evidence vault, a forensics area lined with computers and an office area for investigators. The task force also has a facility in Reno at the Washoe County Sheriff's office.

Sheriff Jerry Keller, who attended a special grand opening of the facility on Wednesday, said that the importance of the task force cannot be understated.

"The knowledge to combat these kinds of crime is critical to meet the challenges we face today," Keller said. "We know five of the 19 hijackers met in Las Vegas in early August, and that Mohamed Atta spent hours on a computer."

In addition to going after cyber criminals, the task force is also working to train law enforcement regarding computer-related crimes, and to document the frequency and intensity of these crimes in Nevada, said Tara Shepperson, executive director of the task force.

"We know the number of murders committed in Nevada every minute, but these numbers aren't there yet," Shepperson said. "We hope to track the cases that come through the task force, and also educate law enforcement agencies on the importance of recording these kinds of cases."

Cyber crime is on the rise, according to the latest survey compiled by the Computer Security Institute and the FBI.

The report, based on a survey of 538 computer-security practitioners for U.S. corporations, government agencies, financial institutions and universities, states that nearly 85 percent of respondents detected computer-security breaches in 2000.

Of the respondents, 186 said that they lost more than $377 million in computer-related crimes, up from $265 million in losses reported by 249 companies and agencies in 1999.

Franks doesn't have to look further than his fraud unit to get an idea of the scope of cyper crime in Nevada.

"We see over $1 million a month lost in credit card, check and other types of fraud," Franks said. "Last year my office seized about 800 computers."

An example of the type of crime the task force is working to stop occurred last year at a local credit union, Franks said.

"We had a disgruntled employee stealing money from a credit union at a clip of about $19,000 a minute," Franks said. "He was transferring funds to different accounts, and it ended up causing problems at five other financial institutions."

Those who believe they may have been victimized by cyber criminals can call the task force's hot line at 295-1818.