The House voted overwhelmingly on Monday to create a new cybersecurity hub for the Secret Service.
The Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act, or H.R. 3490, which will create a National Computer Forensics Institute for the Secret Service to operate out of the Department of Homeland Security, passed by a bipartisan voice vote.
The NCFI will exist “for the dissemination of homeland security information related to the investigation and prevention of cyber and electronic crime, including threats of terrorism or acts of terrorism,” and “to educate, train, and equip state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges.”
“We’ve all seen the crime shows on TV where pieces of DNA evidence, a strand of hair or a drop of blood are used to solve a case,” said chief sponsor Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas. “But in today’s world, we have to rely upon digital evidence. An email that was sent, an online purchase that was made, geolocation technology that places an individual at the scene of a crime.”
The DHS was created in 2002 in order to combat terrorism. It has quickly expanded in size to become the third largest cabinet agency by number of employees, after the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs, as lawmakers have increased the agency’s role in combatting international threats to domestic infrastructure.
The newly-passed legislation adds an additional cooperative component to the agency, which appears aimed at creating a hub for the Secret Service to enhance counterterrorism efforts with local partners.
The measure is set to sail through the Senate before requiring a signature from the president.
