LOS ANGELES --On Thursday, Oct. 24, 2002, at 9:00 AM, the first quarterlymeeting of the Los Angeles Electronic Crimes Task Force (LAXECTF) will convene atthe Wilshire Grand Los Angeles. Security experts, including chief information officers,chief security officers, law enforcement professionals, academicians and governmentleaders from the federal, state, and local levels will attend the half-day meeting.
With the passage in October 2001 of the USA PATRIOT Act, a direct response to the September 11th terrorist attacks, the U.S. Secret Service was authorized to establish anationwide network of electronic crimes task forces, based on the agency's highlysuccessful New York City model. The task force approach developed by the SecretService has generatedunprecedented partnerships among federal, state and local lawenforcement, the private sector, and academia. These partnerships have experiencedremarkable success in detecting and suppressing computer-based crime.
"The partnering methods and techniques successfully utilized by the task force againstcyber-criminals are unprecedented in the law enforcement arena,U.S. Secret Service
Director Brian L. Stafford said. "The Secret Service has taken a truly collaborativeapproach and applied it to fighting high-tech crimes."
"Our goal is to keep our community and nation safe against various forms of electroniccrimes and terrorist attacks against the critical infrastructure and financial payment
systems, said Brian Nagel, Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office. "This task force is about sharing information and resources in an effort to enhance our
strengths and minimize our weakness against those that would do us harm."
Well known for protecting the nations leaders, the U.S. Secret Service is also responsiblefor protecting America's financial infrastructure. Technology and the rapid growth of the
Internet have eliminated the traditional borders of financial crimes and provided newopportunities for those who engage in fraud to threaten the nation's financial systems.
These new technologies have been exploited by an expanding criminal element thatconducts a host of sophisticated financial crimes.
Telecommunications and finance systems are prime targets for the hacker or cyberterroristintent on causing damage to the economy of the United States. With the task
force approach, the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners at the federal, stateand local level, will work closely with members of these industries and the academic
community to share information and identify weaknesses.
The Los Angeles Electronic Crimes Task Force is one of eight task forces established asa direct result of the anti-terrorism USA PATRIOT Act, which was passed by Congress
in response to the September 11th attacks on America. In addition to the Los Angeles taskforce, the Secret Service has established new electronic crimes task forces in Miami,
Charlotte, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Boston, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The first meeting of the Los Angeles Electronic Crimes Task Force will be OPEN PRESS.
What: First Meeting of the Los Angeles Electronic Crimes Task Force
Who: U.S. Secret Service Director Brian L. Stafford
Special Advisor to the President for Cyberspace Security Richard Clarke
United States Attorney Debra Yang
Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley
Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy D. Baca
U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Brian Nagel
F.B.I Assistant Director Ronald Iden
University of Southern California Chief Security Officer Stan Gatewood
When: Thursday, Oct. 24, 2002
8:00 AM Media registration, Training Room, Wilshire Grand
9:00 AM Event begins
Where: Pacific Ballroom, Wilshire Grand Los Angeles
930 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90017
A panel discussion on top security challenges facing American companies is part of themeeting. The panel includes: Richard Beatty, Chief Security and Privacy Officer for
Children's Hospital of California; Jeff Dow, Vice President of Information Security forNews Corporation; and Jim Smith, Senior Vice President of Protective Services for West
Coast Bank of America; and will be moderated by Chris Lindquist, Technology Editor forCSO Magazine.
Electronic Crimes Task Force information is also available athttp://www.ectaskforce.org/Regional_Locations.htm
Source: U.S. Secret Service